Relationships
by systemman
Summary: After the attack by Pein, Hinata wonders if her relationship with Naruto will go anywhere. Set before: ‘Kage Bushin Can Be Useful’
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters of Naruto belong to Kishimoto Masashi. This story is written without permission, for fan purposes only. Do not reproduce without permission.

Summary: After the attack by Pein, Hinata wonders if her relationship with Naruto will go anywhere. (Set before: 'Kage Bushin Can Be Useful')

Explanation: For those who have already read this story, this is not an addition. I am just correcting grammatical mistakes

The Beginning

The sun rose slowly over the eastern side of the mountain, its rays barely cresting the top signaling a new spring day. As the sun raised higher the mountain's shadow pulled back revealing The Village Hidden in the Leaves, Konohagakure no Sato. The village had a large tower which dominated the center and it in turn was surrounded by smaller buildings which radiated outward in a circle. As the circle spread further out the smaller buildings seemed to be surrounded by small homes and then larger homes. These homes, surrounded by land in gated areas, were the clan estates. If one were to look further pass the estates they would see the 30 foot wall that encircled the village and then merge with the mountain at each end. This wall had three openings appropriately called The North, The South and The West Gates. Looking even further one would see a giant forest spanning hundreds of square miles with very few roads passing through it and thus giving the village it name.

As the morning light reached the Hyuuga Clan estates it filled the room of one Hyuuga Hinata, kunoichi of Konoha and possible clan heiress. By the right of being the first born, Hinata was originally the only heiress but her early poor proficiency in the Hyuuga Clan's Gentle Fist taijutsu and her lack of confidence had led her father, Hyuuga Hiashi, to practically reject her as his successor and to considered her younger sister, Hyuuga Hanabi, as his heir. However over the last three years Hinata had shown vast improvement in her confidence and mastery of the Hyuuga's taijutsu to the point of becoming a Chuunin. But what really impressed Hyuuga Hiashi was Hinata's display of the Juho Soshiken (Gentle Step Twin Lion Fist) technique during the attack on Konoha by Pein while trying to protect her fellow ninja. By itself this was enough to secure Hinata's ascension to Clan Head however there was one area where Hanabi had the edge; political acumen. Hanabi had the ability to easily maneuver the political trapping necessary to deal with the Council of Elders and the Branch Family while Hinata would always reveal her feelings and thus give the impression of being a weak leader.

With the sunlight as her alarm clock Hinata awoke and within the safety of the clan's compound allowed her senses to come into focus at a leisurely pace. Rising from her prone position she sat up in her futon and yawned while raising her arms above her head in a prolonged stretch. She blushed as she recalled the dream she just had whereas she and Naruto were married and it was their wedding night. While Naruto lay on the bed clad only in a robe she stood before him in a silk nightgown, open at the neck and slowly coming together just below her navel and opening again around her right thigh as her leg was position just in front of her left leg. She sighed as she thought that she would never have the courage to do that in real life. Accepting that thought she rose and started putting her futon away. Though she had servants, Hinata always felt self conscious about someone else performing jobs for her that she felt she should do herself. After placing her bedding in the corner she grabbed her taijutsu outfit necessary for training and headed to the bathroom. As she removed her sleeping clothes she looked at herself in the mirror and then thought about her dream.

"Would Naruto-kun even like her body? Would he think that her chest were too big? Would he think that her hips were too wide?" she wondered.

Hinata knew that she was curvier than most Hyuuga women and as that way her only role model growing up, she felt self conscious when she started developing early. As she thought about it Naruto-kun had not shown any interest in her body.

After the Pein incident and her confession of love, Naruto and Hinata had met for lunch and had a talk. Naruto had told Hinata that he was surprised by her confession and he honestly didn't know what to do about it. Hinata had smiled saying she understood and that she really didn't expect a confession of love in return. She told him that she was just glad to have finally told him how she felt and if he just wanted to stay friends it was alright with her. Then Naruto told her that even if he didn't know how he felt if she was willing to wait he would like to see her more often so he could understand what he felt. Hinata blushed and smiling said that she wouldn't mind doing that. And so for the past year Hinata and Naruto have been seen together. It started out slow with Naruto inviting Hinata to spar and later to lunch at Ichiraku about twice a week whenever he saw her. After about a month Naruto started inviting Hinata to lunch before ending the previous meal. It was at this point that Hinata started suggesting having a picnic instead so that Naruto would not always be paying for the meal. Naruto surprised Hinata when he invited her to dinner at a fancy restaurant two months later. During the meal he admitted that the idea had come from Iruka-sensei but that when he heard it he thought that it was a great idea; Hinata was flattered anyway. During the last four month whenever Hinata and Naruto weren't out on a mission they would search out each other and just hang out. If they were also hanging out with their friends or doing some sort of group activity you would find them standing close to each other.

All this time Hinata was in heaven and she would have love for it to continue but still she was wondering had Naruto sorted out his feelings for her. Hinata liked romance novel just as well as any teenage girl did and in all those stories the boy would always try to flirt with the girl and whether the girl was honored or appalled at least she knew that the boy was interested. Hinata had even overheard some of the female Hyuuga servants talking about their boyfriends and some of the sexual innuendos the boyfriends had made. But what amazed Hinata was that the girls never mentioned dumping their boyfriends and the tone of the talk almost sounded like bragging. Naruto, however, had been the perfect gentleman as he hadn't tried to kiss her or even hold her hand and that, if Hinata was willing to admit it, was the whole problem. Hinata knew she would be totally embarrassed if Naruto ever said anything close to sexual to her but at least she would know where she stood. Well if Naruto just wanted to be friends she would accept that and enjoy it for as long as she could.

As Hinata's mind returned to the present she resumed her morning routine and dressed for training. Hinata left her room and headed for the compound's main dojo passing along the way servants who were preparing the rest of the compound for the day. Upon entering the dojo she placed her towel and a scroll near the door and then moving to the center of the room started doing the clan's basic taijutsu forms as warm-up for the first fifteen minutes. Next Hinata started practicing the Jyuken, a Hyuuga taijutsu, which does damage to the internal organs by disrupting the chakra flow, for thirty minutes. After that came another thirty minutes of Hakke Rokujuu Yonshou (Sixty-Four Points Hands) and finally thirty minutes practicing the Hakke Shou Kaiten (Heavenly Spin). While going through the final ten minutes of training Hinata detected a familiar chakra enter the dojo and upon completing her routine stood up straight with her back to her visitor and said, "Do you need anything, Neji nii-san?"

When Hinata turned around and looked at him Neji said, "You have improved greatly since you were a genin".

Hinata walked toward Neji who was still standing by the entrance and said, "Thank you" and then picking up the scroll and handed it to Neji saying "This is my schedule for today".

Neji opened the scroll, scanned it and said, "I see that you will be meeting Naruto-san today".

Hinata felt a blush coming on but after the workout she knew that no one would be able to tell and answering Neji she said "Hai, this afternoon. Why?"

Neji just looked at Hinata with a hint of a smirk and said "Nothing, just tell him 'hi' for me".

It was Neji duty to protect Hinata when she was in the village and by telling Hinata to say 'hi' from him meant that Neji trusted Naruto enough to protect her in his absence.

Hinata smiled and said "Thank you, nii-san" and then left to shower for her next duty which was training with one of the Elders in Hyuuga political protocol.

Two hours later Hinata left her lessons on political protocol for today and went into her bedroom to change for her visit with Kurenai-sensei and afterwards lunch with Naruto. She decided on a pastel sundress with short sleeves and a neckline that was two inches from her collarbone. The collar of the dress had a two inch slightly ruffled fringe all the way around and there was an elastic band just below her bosom while the rest of the dress flair slightly to her knees. Hinata felt this dress would keep her cool and still give her the flexibility to fight should she be attacked. To ensure her ability to fight and yet keep her modesty, she also wore pastel biking shorts beneath the dress and low heel shoes. Leaving her long hair loose to flow down to the middle of her back she left her room and headed to the front door of the manor.

Before reaching the door Hinata heard her father's slight cough and spun around to greet him saying "Hello, Father".

Hyuuga Hiashi looked at his daughter's attire and asked "Are you going to meet your friends in town today?"

Hinata stood straight with her hands clasped in front of her and looking into his eyes answered, "Yes, Father".

"Will Uzumaki Naruto be there?" Hiashi asked in a neutral tone.

Hinata didn't know what her father really thought of Naruto-kun as he was always careful not to show what he was thinking. He had to have known that she had been seen around the village in Naruto-kun's company and since he never commented on it before she figured he was giving it his tacit approval. Knowing that it is very hard to lie to a Hyuuga and not really wanting to be deceitful Hinata replied "Yes Father, Naruto-kun will be there".

Hiashi stared at Hinata for a few seconds and then said "Don't be late for dinner tonight as there will be a clan meeting afterwards".

Not waiting for a reply Hiashi turned and walked away while Hinata just watched him leave and quietly said, "Yes, Father".

Hyuuga Hiashi didn't know what to think of his daughter's relationship with Uzumaki Naruto. When Naruto was little Hiashi had no opinion whatsoever about him being the container of the Nine Tail Demon, Kyuubi. The boy had shown no evidence that that the Kyuubi was affecting him and Naruto's childish bouts of vandalism just labeled him as a common street urchin. When Naruto had become a part of Team Seven and rumors of their exploits surfaced Hiashi attributed that to their leader Hatake Kakashi. He will admit that he started to get worried when Naruto accessed the Kyuubi's chakra during the Chuunin exams and used it to defeat Neji. However that concerned was removed when Naruto was instrumental in the defense of Konoha during the following Sound/Sand invasion. The fact that Naruto was involved with bringing Tsunade back to Konoha to become the Hokage and then becoming the student of the other Sannin, Jaraiya also helped to improve Hiashi's opinion of the Uzumaki kid. Naruto's subsequent rescue of the Kazakage of the Sand helped to cement the alliance with Wind Country and his defeat of Pein convinced Hiashi that one day he would probably become Hokage of the Leaf. It wasn't until after the Pein battle that Hiashi found out that Naruto was also the reason Hinata gain the confidence to become a Chuunin and develop her ninja skills to its present level. Hinata was now back in contention to become Head of the Hyuuga Clan and Uzumaki Naruto was on the fast track to become the next Hokage and that is where the dilemma existed. Hinata had to know that Uzumaki Naruto's love for this village would not let him give up his dream to be Hokage just to be with her and Hinata could not stay with Naruto without the Council of Elders approval which implied receiving the Cage Bird seal for the protection of the Byakugan. As Hiashi watched his oldest daughter leave the compound from his office window he figured he would let her have her fun until the reality of her position forced her to forget about a life with Uzumaki Naruto.

Hinata nodded to the guards in acknowledgement as she left the compound. As soon as she was a few feet away from the gate she felt the familiar presence of Neji's chakra following her. It was Neji's task to protect Hinata where ever she went and though he was reluctant at first he never let it affect his duty. When they were younger he would walk next to her under the watchful gaze of his father, Hyuuga Hizashi. After the death of his father Neji stopped walking next to her and fell two steps behind her but still under the watchful eyes of an adult bodyguard. This went on until Neji showed enough proficiency to be able to guard Hinata on his own. Neji always walked behind acting as her bodyguard until he was relieved by another Hyuuga guard because he was needed somewhere else or he had turned her over to her sensei Yuuhi Kurenai. At that point Hinata stayed under the watchful eyes of Kurenai until Neji was able to come get her. After Hiashi explained the facts behind Neji's father's death Neji started walking next to her but would always back off and give her some privacy if she was walking with her friends. In the beginning these opportunities were few and far between but as Hinata's confidence started to grow he was doing it a lot more often. At present he was following her by moving through the trees giving her, at least, a semblance of privacy. Normally if Hinata was in the company of her sensei Neji would be free until Hinata was ready to leave however with Yuuhi Kurenai currently on maternity leave Neji felt like it was more prudent to stay nearby just in case. And even though he readily accepted his position as Hinata's bodyguard, Neji knew that once Hinata was in the company of Naruto, he would have the rest of his afternoon free.

As Hinata approached the housing complex where Yuuhi Kurenai lived she thought about how she hadn't visited in a week. She loved playing with Asumakazu while visiting with her sensei. While entering the lobby of the building Hinata spotted Kurenai-sensei holding little Asumakazu in his onbuhimo on her back while she was getting her mail.

Coming up next to her, Hinata said "Hello Kurenai-sensei, I hope that I'm not too early".

Kurenai turned her head and said, "Hello Hinata, no, not at all. I was just getting my mail."

Asumakuzu made a bubbling sound as he chewed on a plastic ring causing Kurenai to comment "He's teething right now and the only thing that keeps him quiet is chewing on one of those rings. I keep a spare one in the refrigerator as the coldness helps soothe his gums. Come on; let's go upstairs so we can talk".

When they reached the apartment Kurenai removed Asumakuzu from her back and set him down on a blanket in front of the sofa while she and Hinata sat down to catch up. As they talked about everything and nothing Kurenai could tell that something was bothering Hinata. When it came to finding out what was troubling Hinata Kurenai knew that there were two ways to handle it, one way was as a mother figure and ask outright what was wrong. The other way was as a friend and just let Hinata talk when she was ready and today seemed like being a friend was the best approach. When Kurenai went into the kitchen to make some tea Hinata reached down and picked up Asumakuzu. As he sat in her lap drooling into his bib while chewing on the ring Hinata noted that even though he had Kurenai's red hair, she could definitely see that Asumakuzu had his father's eyes, nose and chin. Kurenai returned with a tray of cups and a pot of tea and as she was setting it down Hinata asked "How did you know that Asuma liked you?"

"Ahh", Kurenai thought, "now she's ready".

"Oh, the little things he did like finding any reason to come talk to me, getting nervous whenever I approached him suddenly and the way his eyes always found me in a room but then he would turn away when I noticed him looking" she replied with a fond look in her eyes.

"Did he ever try to do anything to you?" Hinata asked barely above a whisper.

Kurenai became livid saying "Hyuuga Hinata, if that boy has done anything to you, you better tell me now!"

Before Hinata could say a thing Kurenai started muttering, "I should have known! Being the student of Kakashi and Jaraiya is enough to corrupt anybody. Boy when I get my hands on Naruto and then Kakashi they are both going to know what pain is like."

Hinata was scared, she had given her Sensei the wrong idea and now Naruto-kun was in danger. The last time she had seen her Sensei like this was on a mission went some bandit had made a lewd comment to Hinata in front of Kurenai and that had not ended well for the bandit.

Hinata grabbed Kurenai's arm and said "Wait Sensei, Naruto-kun didn't hurt me! He hasn't done anything at all!"

And as Kurenai looked into Hinata's eyes realization hit her and she said, "And that's the problem, isn't it?"

Hinata just looked down at the top of Asumakuzu's head and said nothing not wanting to look Kurenai in the eyes.

"Look Hinata, Naruto is just having a hard time understanding his feelings. Except for you he has probably never had anyone tell him that they loved him and he just doesn't truly understand what that means. Even when you were little and your father treated you harshly you still had the love of your mother to soothe your hurt. Naruto has had none of that so he has no idea how he should react. So don't rush him, just give him time to understand how he feels".

"And if he decides that he doesn't feel the same way that you feel then you will just have to accept that and go on with your life" she added.

Hinata nodded her head but kept looking down.

As Kurenai poured the tea and handed a cup to Hinata, she said "You know, Asuma wasn't the first man I ever loved".

Upon hearing that Hinata's head shot up and she said "He wasn't?"

Kurenai shook her head and said "Nope, not at all. The first boy I ever loved was Tenshi, Okuda Tenshi. I was seventeen and he was twenty and he worked in his father's carpentry shop. I used to watch him cutting wood and moving the heavy lumber around the work yard and man, he was so hot, err…umm… I mean he was so cute."

Kurenai looked a bit embarrassed when she heard Hinata giggled.

"Anyway," she continued "I would always walk by the shop hoping that he would notice me. All he ever did was nodded his head in acknowledgment if I ever caught his eye but nothing more. I decided to be forward and talk to him so one day I went into the shop to check out the furniture and start up a conversation. We talked for a while and I thought that maybe something would come from it. So for the next two months whenever I had some free time I would stop by the shop and Tenshi and I would talk while he worked. A couple of times I even brought bento boxes and we ate in the back of the shop. One day when I dropped by he was talking to this girl at the counter and when I came close he introduced me to his fiancée."

Kurenai heard Hinata gasp and said "Yep, his fiancée. Well I was devastated and though I was polite to the girl I hated every bone in her body. After making some lame excuse I ran home and cried all night. After that I avoided the shop and whenever I saw that girl in the streets I made sure she didn't see me. At one time I actually contemplated casting a genjutsu on her to make her think that she was at a bath house so that she would strip in the middle of the street just to embarrass her".

At this revelation Hinata cried "Sensei, no!"

Kurenai just chuckled and said "Don't worry; I didn't do a thing though I sorely wanted to do it. What helped me through it was a talk I had with my mother and she said the same thing I'm saying to you; no matter how much you want it you can't make someone fall in love with you if they are not interested".

"And if I had gotten involved with Tenshi maybe I wouldn't have gotten together with Asuma and little Asumakuzu wouldn't be here today" Kurenai added.

Hinata started to look depressed again when she heard that last line so Kurenai added, "Look Hinata, I am not saying that you should give up on Naruto, I am just saying that you should be prepared if things don't go as you wish".

Hinata looked at Kurenai and said "Yes, I know and thank you, Kurenai-sensei".

It was at this point that Hinata got a whiff of something that smelled like gas, methane gas. As she looked at Kurenai she noticed that her Sensei had smelled it also and then they both looked at Asumakuzu whose face was returning from strained concentration to relaxed bliss.

Kurenai took Asumakuzu from Hinata and said "I think somebody needs his diaper changed. I'll be right back".

With that Hinata stood up and said "That's okay, it time for me to meet Naruto-kun for lunch anyway".

Kurenai stood holding Asumakuzu slightly away from her body and said "Okay, be sure to come back to visit soon."

As Hinata walked to the door Kurenai called "Hinata".

When Hinata looked back at her Sensei, Kurenai said "Naruto would have to be the biggest baka in the world to not fall in love with you".

Hinata smiled and said "Thank you, Sensei" and then left.

As Kurenai changed Asumakuzu's diaper she thought about her former student and how she had turned out better that Kurenai could have hoped. Even though Kurenai hated Hiashi's guts for how he had treated Hinata she gave him credit for the raw talent with which she was born. But the expectations that had been placed upon her at an early age had all but broken the little girl. The desire to change, to be better than what she was, was always there smoldering underneath but no one knew how to kindle that fire, not even Hinata herself. But one boy had the power to do it and even if he didn't realize it, he had ignited and fanned the flames that made Hinata the kunoichi Kurenai had always thought she could be. So Kurenai hoped that should everything go wrong Hinata would realize that she could keep the fire going even if that strong wind had moved on.

As Hinata left the apartment complex she thought about what Kurenai-sensei had said and if she was going to be truthful to herself her sensei was right. But this was Naruto-kun they were talking about and if there was one thing she learned from him it was not to give up. So as long as he didn't tell her to leave she was going to enjoy his company for as long as she could.

With that resolve in mind she started heading for the Hokage Tower where Naruto was attending a meeting between The Hokage and The Kazekage of the Sand. Gaara had entered Konoha undercover traveling with a merchant's caravan from Suna with Temari as his only bodyguard. He had left Kankuro and Baki behind to cover for him and give the impression he was still in the Sand. Tsunade and Gaara wanted to discuss the rumors of a civil war brewing within the Hidden Village Among the Rocks and what that meant to the balance of power of the remaining Hidden Villages. The Hokage had decided to let Naruto attend this meeting for two reasons; one reason was so that he could get the feel for the type of discussions that went on between the Hidden Villages. The second reason was because he was best friends with Gaara, the Kazakage of the Sand. This meeting was only supposed to last until noon and so Naruto had invited Hinata to have lunch with him afterwards. As Hinata got closer to the tower she started repeating the phrase that had become a mantra to her; 'look him in the eyes and don't stutter'.

Hinata couldn't understand it, every time she would look at Naruto-kun for the first time that day she would blush and the first few sentences out of her mouth would stutter. However after a few minutes she would feel extremely comfortable and the rest of the conversation went fine. She just couldn't explain this reaction as she had come so far in terms of her confidence with stressful situations. She had worked hard to fight down the panic she felt in her earlier missions. When the Chuunin exam that she passed came around she had worked side by side with Shino and Kiba battling the other teams to get to the finals. She had defeated her first opponent, the Grass nin, handily through the used of strategy and fighting skills. And even though she had lost in the second round to that Rock nin, Kurenai-sensei said he had collapsed to the ground unconscious ten seconds after he was declared the winner. The Rock nin was so exhausted and injured he couldn't compete against Shino in the final round and had to forfeit. So why was it that every time she saw Naruto for the first time she resorted to the insecure girl who had just graduated from Ninja Academy. Thank Kami; at least she had stopped poking her fingers together.

Hinata was still repeating her mantra just as she reached the front of the building when Sakura stepped outside. Sakura was wearing her normal outfit of white half skirt over biker's shorts with her red vest and boots heading towards Konoha Hospital when she saw Hinata at the bottom of the steps.

"Hey, Hinata!" Sakura called as she waved at the girl.

Hinata looked up at Sakura and said "Hello Sakura, how are you feeling today?"

Hinata and Sakura had become good friends over the last year. It would be stretching the truth to say that they were best friends but their relationship was a lot closer than before. When Hinata and Naruto first started hanging out Hinata would always feel self conscious whenever she saw Sakura and Naruto together. It wasn't until Naruto asked Hinata for another "date' while the current one was still going that she realize that he might be interested in her. It was then that she also realized that Sakura was just as much a part of Naruto's life as Shino and Kiba were a part of her life. And should she ever have to choose between Naruto and her team then even though she knew that she would pick Naruto she also knew that her heart would ache every times she thought about them. So if Hinata wanted Naruto in her life then she had to accept Sakura and Sasuke too. Actually hanging out with Sakura and Ino hadn't been as bad as Hinata thought it might be. It gave her a chance to get away from the staid Hyuuga compound and just do things like a normal teenage girl and not some heiress to a clan.

Sakura walked down the steps and stood in front of the girl and said "Tired, I just finished my shift and I just found out I have to cover the shift of a medic who suddenly fell sick".

Hinata said "Oh, I am sorry to here that".

Sakura just waved it off saying, "Don't worry about it; it happens a lot in the medical field and I am learning to cope. How about you, are you here to see Naruto?"

Hinata smiled and said "Yes, we are going to lunch after the meeting this morning".

"Good" Sakura said. "You know ever since he has been hanging out with you he has been more relaxed. He has never been this quiet for as long as I have known him. You know you really have been good for him".

Hinata was about to answer when she heard a familiar voice say "Hey Hinata, are you all ready to go?"

When Hinata looked up the steps there was Naruto standing in the doorway holding the door open. When she saw those cobalt blue eyes looking at her she could feel the blush coming to her face and as she answered she heard that same old voice "Yes, N-Naruto-kun".

Hinata looked at the ground cursing herself in her head as she did it again. Just then she heard the Hokage's voice saying "Move it, brat, other people would like to leave the building too".

Next she heard Naruto's voice saying "Hold your horses, Baa-chan, I'm moving, I'm moving".

When Hinata looked up she saw Naruto walking down the steps followed by the Hokage, Tsunade, who in turn was followed by Sabaku no Gaara, The Kazekage of the Sand, and Sabaku no Temari, his sister. Bringing up the rear of the group was Hagane Kotetsu and Gekko Hayate Tsunade's administrative go-fers.

When Naruto reached Hinata he said "Hinata, I don't know if you have met him but this is Gaara, the Kazekage and his sister Temari. Gaara, Temari, this is Hyuuga Hinata one of my closest friends".

Although Hinata had certainly seen Gaara before she had never been formally introduced to him so she bowed and said "Welcome, Kazakage-sama". Next she turned to Temari and bowed saying "Welcome, Temari-sama".

Even though Gaara knew nothing about the girl except that she was a Hyuuga, he made a mental note that since she was a friend of Naruto she was worth protecting. Temari had done her homework so she knew all about the important clans of Konoha and therefore knew all about Hyuuga Hinata. However Temari could read body language as well and she could tell there was something between these two so she also made a mental note to protect the Hyuuga girl.

Gaara said "I am glad to meet one of Uzumaki Naruto's friends and any time you are in Sunagakure, please, feel free to visit."

Hinata bowed and said "Thank you".

Naruto thought that was a great idea and as he started talking about how great visiting the Sand Village would be Hinata noticed two things. The first thing she noticed was that Neji's chakra was fading away signaling that he had left her in Naruto's care. The second thing Hinata noticed was the feeling of comfort was enveloping her again. It was almost like something was massaging her, causing her to relax her muscles and surrender to the feeling. Hinata was brought back to her senses when she heard Naruto say "Hey, me and Hinata were just going to have lunch, would you like to join us?"

Gaara was about to answer when Temari spoke first saying, "Thanks but no thanks. Gaara and I have some paperwork to go over before the next meeting this afternoon".

Gaara didn't have any idea what Temari was talking about but as he was still learning about social interactions he often found it was better to follow Temari's lead in these situations. As Tsunade was about to also refuse the invitation she suddenly felt the ground tremble. Standing still to see if it was her imagination she suddenly felt it tremble again and this time it was stronger. Just as she was about to ask if anyone else had felt the tremor Konoha suddenly started shaking making it hard to stand properly.

Sakura suddenly shouted "What's happening? Is it an earthquake?"

Tsunade replied "That's impossible! Konoha isn't near any fault lines".

Gaara immediately fell to one knee and placing a hand on the ground starting probing the area with his chakra. After about fifteen seconds Gaara said, "Hokage-sama, about forty feet below, the ground is full of chakra and it is liquefying like a swamp".

Then Gaara stood up and said "And the swamp is growing".


	2. Chapter 2

The Attack

Ayuda Toshiro was an excellent ninja. When he was given an assignment he would not stop until it was completed. It was this very attitude that brought him to the attention of the Tsuchikage of the Hidden Village Among the Rocks. He had been assigned to lead a platoon of one hundred ninjas in an attack upon the Village Hidden in the Leaves. This attack was two years in planning and now he overseeing its execution as one hundred rock nins were spread around the outside of Konoha in groups of four. These groups consisted on one highly trained and medically enhanced Doton user and three body guards. Since this was a covert attack the group was minimally supplied with weapons so as not to appear to be an officially sponsored raid. However this was not a large concern as Konoha would be too busy trying to survive to send out patrols.

Now while the medically enhanced Doton users were applying the Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld) to the foundation of Konoha from their strategic locations outside of the wall, the inner village was starting to collapse. It was necessary to start the jutsu from fifty feet below the surface for two reasons. The first was in order to let the different sources of the attack come together without being detected to avoid any counterattacks and bring the village down as a whole. The second reason was purely structural; the attack had to be deep enough in order to affect the foundations of all the buildings. The men in this attack had given up their personal lives when they volunteered for this mission and the Doton users were risking even more. The amount of chakra being used to accomplish this mission was massive and even with their enhancements there was a ninety-five percent chance they were all going to die from chakra exhaustion. But if giving up their lives was necessary in order to have their old enemy Konohagakure sink into the earth then they all thought it was worth it.

The ground was shaking violently now threatening all the tall structures of Konoha.

Naruto suddenly yelled to Gaara, "Gaara, can you still use that jutsu you used to save the Sand from Deidara's attack?"

"Yes, Uzumaki Naruto. Why?" Gaara answered.

"Is there enough sand in the ground so that you can lift all of Konoha away from the swamp?" Naruto yelled.

Gaara said, "No, not enough sand but there is enough of the minerals that make up sand. I could control them to lift the village but without Shukaku I only have enough chakra for fifteen minutes at most".

Naruto yelled "Don't worry about the chakra, I have that part covered. Just do it now!"

At that moment Gaara started concentrating his chakra into the ground and then the trembling started to lessen. After a while the shaking stopped and Gaara said "I am holding Konoha about a foot above the swamp but I can't keep doing this for very long".

Naruto said "Gotcha" and started doing a few hand signs and then closed his eyes and started concentrating.

Suddenly red chakra engulfed his body giving the impression he was inside a transparent fox costume with two tails of chakra. His whole body was covered in red chakra except for his hands; they were covered in blue chakra. Naruto then stepped behind Gaara and placed his hands on Gaara's back. Gaara stiffen slightly as his body was flooded with extra chakra as he hadn't felt this strong since Shukaku was extracted from his body.

Sakura asked "Naruto, what are you doing?"

"Remember when Chiyo baa-san used my chakra to save Gaara, Sakura?" Naruto asked.

Of course Sakura remembered that incident as it had cost the life of a medic she had learned to respect and admire. "Yes, of course I do" she said.

"Well, I don't have the skill to revive the dead but I thought that if I could learn to share my chakra then I could help you whenever you needed it. So I used my clones to help study the chakra transferring part" Naruto said.

"Since my body automatically uses Kyuubi's chakra to restore my stamina and regular chakra is a combination of spiritual and physical energy, I am using my body to convert Kyuubi's chakra into regular chakra" Naruto added.

"But Naruto, even you can't keep this going forever!" Tsunade said.

"I know. You guys will just have to find out what is causing this swamp and stop it" Naruto answered.

Then Tsunade ordered "Sakura, go find Yamoto and bring him here immediately. He's probably at his emergency post awaiting orders".

Sakura looked confused but said "Hai" and took off running.

Tsunade then ordered, "Kotetsu, go to the Akimichi Clan estates and get me two supplies of the X1 soldiers pills and only the X1. Then have them give me the three pepper pills they use for emergencies".

"Hayate, you go find Shikamaru and bring him back immediately along with six com-links".

Hayate and Kotestsu bowed and took off.

Naruto, keeping his concentration on his jutsu, asked "What are you up to, Baa-san?"

Tsunade answered, "I have a plan to help stabilize Konoha".

After a few minutes Kotetsu returned first with the pills and stood by for further orders. After a few more minutes Sakura returned with Yamoto and next Hayate arrived with Shikamaru.

When everyone was gathered around Tsunade said, "We may be under attack. Naruto and the Kazekage have stabilized Konoha for now but they can't do it forever so Shikamaru I want you to find Shizune and have her coordinate the evacuation of the civilians to the mountain shelter. And then I want you to coordinate the search parties to find out whom or what is attacking us".

"Yamato, I want you to come with me. We're going to use your Mouton jutsu to place pylons from the stabilized ground through the swamp area and into the bedrock below".

Yamato looked at Tsunade in shock and stated "Hokage-sama, I don't have enough chakra to do that!"

Tsunade replied, "I know, that why I got the Akimichi's Pepper pills. You are going to take them to supplement your chakra and I'm going to monitor your organs and fluids to make sure you don't die".

Yamato looked unsure but said, "Hai, Hokage-sama".

Then Tsunade turned to Hinata and Sakura and said "You two will stay here and protect Naruto and the Kazekage from any possible attack. Here, wear these com-links so I can keep in touch".

Both Hinata and Sakura took a com-link and said "Hai".

Temari, who had been silent up to now, said, "Hokage-sama, I would like to go with you to provide protection while you and Yamato-san are busy".

Tsunade looked at the Sand Jounin evenly and said "As you are not a Konoha nin I can not stop you but I must warn you that whomever is behind this will try to stop us if we are discovered".

Temari glanced over to Gaara and Naruto and replied "I owe Naruto a great debt for twice helping my brother. This will only be but a small down payment."

"Besides", she said as she smirked and hefted her giant fan onto her shoulder, "I need to work out some frustration from only having boring diplomatic missions".

Tsunade smiled and said, "Okay everybody lets move it".

While Tsunade and the other nins took off, Hinata and Sakura took up positions on the opposite sides of Naruto and Gaara facing outward and ready for anything. Hinata tied her long hair in a top knot and activated her Byakugan and as the world took on the familiar hue of reduced colors and highlighted outlines she scanned the area for any threats. The first thing she noticed was that Naruto and Gaara were glowing from the chakra flowing through them with Naruto having the brighter aura. While she scanned the area Hinata thought back to the stories she had heard of the Kyuubi attack on Konoha seventeen years ago. Even though the Hyuugas had fought bravely that night, their doujutsu was useless because the Kyuubi was made of pure chakra and therefore appeared as a glowing mass with no outline defining its arms, legs or deadly nine tails. Keeping Naruto and Gaara behind her, close to her blind spot, made it easier to concentrate on the outer perimeter.

As Hinata scanned the perimeter she could see civilian escaping buildings and running in all directions. But even though individual movement was chaotic the mass of people as a whole seemed to be moving away from them and going towards the Hokage Mountain and the shelters inside. Every once in a while she would tense because it looked as if someone was headed their way but then the individual would veer away. After a while she heard Sakura's voice in her ear, "Hinata, do you see anything?"

"No, nothing but the civilians evacuating, Sakura" she replied.

Though Sakura didn't have the benefit of the Byakugan, Tsunade had trained her in sensing chakra and "killer intent". As a medic nin Sakura's main objective was to stay alive so that she could heal wounded ninjas in the field. The ability to sense when someone is targeting you and being able to dodge the attack was a necessity of the job.

"This is the part I always hated about escort missions, knowing someone's out there but not being able detect them" Sakura said into her com-link.

"Did Naruto ever tell you about our first mission to the Wave country?" Sakura asked.

"No" replied Hinata.

"Well, we had to protect a bridge builder from this missing nin named Zabuza who was from the Hidden Mist" Sakura continued.

"He trapped us in a mist on the bridge and I was assigned to protect Tazuna, the bridge builder, while Kakashi–sensei moved into the mist to fight Zabuza. Sasuke was busy fighting Zabuza's partner Haku and Naruto was back at Tazuna's home resting up from the previous night. Let me tell you I was never so scared in my whole life. I couldn't see a thing and I knew I was no match for Zabuza even if I could see him coming" Sakura explained.

"Anyway I knew …" Sakura stopped talking as her earpiece suddenly filled with static and she felt an increase in chakra coming from Naruto.

As she turned Sakura saw Naruto with three tails visible. Hinata had also noticed the static and increase in chakra as the glow behind her got much brighter. Suddenly filled with concern, Sakura asked, "Naruto, what wrong?"

"Nothing, it just that this is taking a lot more chakra than I thought I would need. But don't worry everything is under control" he said as he thought "Baa-chan, you better hurry up".

"Something is wrong" Toshiro thought, as the sounds of the crumbling village had stopped and the outer walls weren't vibrating as they were before.

Toshiro immediately activated his com-link and radioed Team One, "Team Leader to Team One, Team Leader to Team One, check in".

When the earpiece crackled in the affirmative Toshiro said "Team One, what's your status?"

The voice at the other end stated "The area is secured. The operation is going as planned".

Toshiro radioed back "Alright, stay alert".

Then Toshiro radioed Team Two and received the same answer. After contacting all twenty-five teams and receiving the same answers he became increasingly confused. He had to know what was going on inside Konoha so he contacted his second-in-command and told him to gather four good men and meet him near Team Eight by the North Wall.

After a few minutes Toshiro was met by his second-in-command, Higa Jiro, and four other men and he addressed them, "Something is wrong with the mission so we're going to sneak inside to see what happening".

Jiro and the rest of the men said "Hai" and with that all six men did the hand signs for Dochuu Eigyo (Underground Fish Projection) and melted into the ground. When all six men appeared inside Konoha's North Wall Toshiro turned to Jiro and asked "Did you feel a gap when you rose to the surface?"

Jiro replied "Hai" and then looked at the other men who nodded in agreement.

Toshiro placed his hand to the ground and pushing his chakra into it felt something strange. There was chakra in the soil but it didn't feel it like it does when doing the Yomi Numa (Swamp of the Underworld). When Toshiro stood and looked around he suddenly felt a strong chakra source coming from the center of the village. Toshiro thought the strong chakra must be the result of the Leaf's Kage trying something and decided to go investigate. However as Toshiro and his men moved towards the source of the strong chakra they saw Tsunade and her group heading away in the opposite direction. Unable to understand what was going on Toshiro told Jiro to take two men and follow the Hokage while he would continue on to the source of the strange chakra.

When Tsunade, Temari and Yamato left Naruto and Gaara they didn't go into any open areas and immediately start creating pylons but kept running for awhile until they came to another building.

As they were racing upstairs Yamoto questioned, "Excuse me, Hokage-sama, but why are going in here instead of an outside area to create the support pylons?"

"Do you know exactly where to place them?" Tsunade asked.

"Uh, no" Yamato answered sheepishly.

"Well, neither do I, so we are going to the Building Department to find someone who does" she said.

Akiyama Mamoru was working alone today. It was a slow day and most of the other workers had gone to lunch early so he was basically by himself. He was one of those civil servants who had gone to the Ninja Academy and passed but couldn't pass the final genin test. As the career as a field ninja of Konoha got further away he decided to pick a new career. He always had a knack for building things and he had a small affinity for Doton jutsu so he decided to become a structural engineer in the Building Department. It was a pretty good way of making a living as Konoha was growing and there was always construction going on somewhere. When Pein had attacked he was lucky enough to be away visiting friends in another village. Upon coming home he saw the destruction and thought he would never see his beautiful home again. But the Konoha villagers were resilient and soon he was part of the team overseeing the replacement of the soil lost in the attack. The ground had to be packed just right or it would not support the new buildings that were to be erected above it.

When the ground started to vibrate he knew that it couldn't be an earthquake because the village wasn't near any tectonic plates as the Hokage Mountain had been created by the First Hokage over time with successive Doton jutsus. As the shaking got worse he knew it was bad and started gathering up all the structural files he could so he could lock them away before he fled. However after a few minutes the shaking stopped. Not taking any chances he decided to complete his task as someone would need this information when assessing the damage. Just then the door to the office burst open and there stood the Hokage her eyes searching the room.

When Tsunade spotted him she ordered "Get me a construction engineer now!"

Mamuro was taken aback by the authority her voiced conferred and timidly said "I am engineer".

"Good", Tsunade said, "You felt the tremors?"

"Yes, Hokage-sama, are we under attack?"

"We might be. Right now we have no information yet but our foundation is being undermined by a massive chakra attack. We have a counter jutsu in place but it won't last long so what I want to do is shore up our foundation with support pylons and I need you to tell where" she replied.

"It's a good idea, Hokage-sama but I'm afraid it just won't work" stated Mamoru.

Knowing that time was short Tsunade let a little irritation enter her question, "Why not?"

Mamoru cringed slightly not wanting to incur the Hokage's wrath and said, "Konoha is no longer sitting on bedrock. After Pein's devastating attack the crater had to be filled with packed dirt. Once whatever jutsu that is holding the ground together is released then the ground will start to crumble around the pylons and Konoha will be in ruins again. Without something to support the ground or hold it together there is no way your plan can work".

Tsunade was frustrated. There was no way she was going to let Konoha be destroyed a second time. Suddenly she turned to Mamoru and asked, "What about a net?"

Mamoru thought for a second and said, "If the net is fine enough that would work. But where are you going to get a net large enough to support the village?"

Tsunade looked directly at Yamato and said "roots".

Yamato looked nervous but Mamoru voiced what Yamato was thinking, "Roots? I had heard rumors of such an organization but I thought that they were disbanded long ago".

"Not that Roots, tree roots", Tsunade said with irritation.

Though Yamato showed signs of recognition, Mamoru and Temari were still confused so Tsunade said, "Haven't you ever pulled up a clump of grass and had a lot of dirt still attached to it? Think of an inverted tree with it trunk going down into the earth and it roots close to the surface."

The light of recognition crossed Mamoru's face as he said, "That might just work".

"Good", Tsunade said "now get your gear together and let's move out".

Mamoru gathered up his charts of the village and followed Tsunade, Temari and Yamato out of the building. When they reached the entrance in front of the building Mamoru said, "I think we should start at Sector thirteen and systematically move…" but Tsunade took off towards the Hokage Mountain and said "Follow me".

Mamoru had a hard time keeping up as he hadn't done this type of running in a long time. As he ran Mamoru yelled "Hokage-sama, why are we heading for the mountain?"

Tsunade replied "Priorities! We are going to re-enforce the escape routes for the civilians first. Next we go to the Hospital area and after that the residential district, business district and finally the clan estates".

Mamoru replied "But Hokage–sama, we will waste time crisscrossing Konoha by doing that".

"Can't be helped", Tsunade answered, "civilian safety comes first".

Higa Jiro considered himself to be a pretty good strategist and that idea had be re-enforced many times by the praises he had received from his superiors but for the life of him he couldn't figure out what this crazy woman was doing. When the Hokage and her party had left what looked like a government building she had picked up an extra ninja. Now she was going all over the village, stopping at various spots and having one of her ninjas doing hand signs and then touching the ground. As far as Jiro could tell nothing was happening and then, after about a minute, that crazy woman and her party would go to another location and repeat the process. He couldn't tell if she was looking for something or whatever as there wasn't a pattern to her madness, so at the last two positions he left one man each to investigate.

While Jiro watched the Hokage make her sixth stop his com-link crackled "Alpha One to Alpha Leader, Alpha One to Alpha Leader, come in".

"Alpha Leader to Alpha One, report" replied Jiro.

"Alpha Leader, I have searched the area and have found nothing unusual".

"Are you sure? You did a thorough probe of the soil?" questioned Jiro.

"Yes sir; and everything looks normal" replied the voice on the com-link.

The Hokage and her party seemed to be taking a little break to get their bearings so Jiro said "Fine, I'm about two clicks northwest of our last position. Report back".

"Yes sir. Alpha One out" came the reply.

About fifteen seconds later Alpha Two reported in with same information and Jiro gave him the same orders. Alpha Two had just arrived as the Hokage and her party started to move again. After they stopped once more and started their ritual Jiro sat there trying to figure out what was going on when Alpha One casually said "No wonder this place has a lot of roots, I mean look at all the trees and plants everywhere."

Alpha Two answered "Yeah, I am glad we didn't have to pass through all that, it would have been crazy".

This exchange caught Jiro's attention and he said over his shoulder "What are you two talking about?"

Alpha One, feeling that somehow he had overstepped his bounds, hesitantly replied "The ground, sir, it is saturated with roots".

Jiro did some hand seals and probed the ground and while he felt a lot of roots it was nothing like what his men were describing. "You mean like right here?" he asked.

Alpha One probed the ground and replied, "No sir, it was more massive than this'.

Jiro looked at Alpha Two who just nodded his head in agreement. When the Hokage and her party left Jiro told his men to follow them as he was going to stay to investigate. As soon as Jiro reached the area the Hokage just left he began to probe the soil and was shocked at the amount of roots that permeated the area. His mind came to the conclusion that the Hokage was trying to hold the village together using plant roots as the glue.

"But that makes no sense" he thought, "because as long as their jutsu touched the soil the roots would have no effect".

Then he remembered the gap they had passed through when they went under the walls but again that made no sense. The only way the gap would work was if the whole village was suspended above the affected area and that was impossible. Still in all he had to report his finding to Toshiro but he'd be damned if he would offer any conclusions. He would just report what he knew and let his commander draw his own conclusions, because he may have volunteered for a possible suicide mission but he wasn't crazy.

Toshiro arrived with his men at the source of the enormous chakra he had been sensing. From his place of concealment he spied four figures in the middle of an open area, a boy standing next to something that looked like a fox and two girls who looked like they were guarding the others. As Toshiro watched more carefully he recognized the boy as the Kazekage of the Sand. When he concentrated on the fox-thing he could barely make out what looked like someone inside a red costume of chakra but that was impossible because you weren't supposed to be able to see chakra unless you had a special kekki genkai and the last time he checked he didn't have one. But Toshiro was no fool; he knew one didn't jump into a fight without knowing what one was up against. This creed had kept him alive and he wasn't about to go against it now. He was going to observe this group for awhile until he knew what was going on. Fifteen minutes had passed when he heard a voice coming through his com-link with a slight static in the background.

"Team Alpha to Team Leader; Team Alpha to Team Leader; come in" said the voice on the com-link.

"Team Leader to Team Alpha, what do you have?" replied Toshiro.

"Team Leader, we know what the target is doing. The target is creating a web of tree roots within the soil to hold the ground together. But I don't understand how that will help by itself" the voice replied.

Toshiro looked at the Kazekage and thought about the information he heard and said "It isn't by itself. It's part of a two prong defense. Take your men and attack the target to disrupt what it is doing".

There was a small pause and then Toshiro heard the hesitation in the voice as it said, "Attack the target? Is that correct, sir?"

Toshiro knew what his men were thinking and replied "Not directly, you idiots. Use hit and run tactics to interfere and disrupt. I'll take care of the second prong on this end, Team Leader out!"

Toshiro decided not to worry about the fox-thing right now and to focus his concentration on his main target. He surmised that since the Kazekage was known to be able to control sand maybe he was using some kind of jutsu to keep Konoha from crumbling. Figuring that all he needed to do was disrupt the Kazekage's concentration in order to dispel the jutsu, Toshiro started making hand signs and slapped his palm to the ground and said "Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm)".

Toshiro waited for the palms made of dirt to rise and crush the Kazekage but after a few seconds realized nothing was happening. Puzzled Toshiro tried the hand signs again and repeated "Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm)" but again nothing happened.

Then Toshiro made the signs and said "Doton Kekai Dorou Doumu (Earth Barrier – Earth Dome Prison) and again nothing happened.

Toshiro was puzzled as he knew that jutsu should have worked. Placing his hands on the ground Toshiro tried pushing chakra into the soil and was surprised to discover that he couldn't do it. No matter how hard he tried his chakra would not flow into the earth. Toshiro considered that to be impossible since he and his men had used 'Dochuu Eigyo' (Underground Fish Projection) to enter Konoha. Toshiro started to realize that the closer they were to this counter jutsu the more concentrated the chakra was in the ground.

Toshiro thought "But that's impossible! The amount of chakra to accomplish that would be so great that it...would…be…visible" and then Toshiro stared back at the fox-thing. His mind ran through all the intelligence he had on Konoha. He knew that Konoha had a jinchuuriki but he couldn't remember which demon they possessed. Running down the lists of bijuus in his mind he looked at the red cloak of chakra and the fox-like shape and then it came to him: 'Kyuubi'.

"Great", he thought, "How am I going to deal with this without being able to use Doton jutsus?"

When Hinata had first noticed the three figures heading their way she thought that they would veer away like everyone else. Hinata began to become concerned as the three shapes kept coming towards them and speaking through her com-link said, "Sakura, three unknowns heading this way from the east".

Sakura replied, "Can you tell if they are a threat?"

"No", Hinata replied, "but they just stopped just beyond the buildings over there and now they seem to be just watching us. From what I can tell their chakra systems seems to indicate shin obi training".

"Well don't give them any indication that we've noticed them and as long as they stay there and don't attack we'll leave them alone".

Hinata said, "Hai ... no wait!" "One of them is using hand signs".

Hinata and Sakura tensed waiting to see what would happen but when no attack appeared Sakura asked, "What happened?"

Hinata replied "I don't know. I saw him repeat it twice but nothing happened. Now they're just waiting and watching."

"Well, keep an eye on them and we'll leave them alone until they make their move" Sakura said, "since we can't afford to be lured away from here".

Yamato was exhausted. The effect of the two previous pills had worn off but there was still a lot of work to do. When they first started out Yamato had his doubts about being able to accomplish this mission. Mamoru had explained that the Village consisted of forty square miles in a half circle and that at minimum there would have to be one pylon for every square mile of land. The pylons would have to be a minimum of three hundred feet in diameter and go down at least one hundred feet to get pass the affected area and into solid bedrock again. Now Yamato knew that the network of roots would be simply to create because all the natural foliage would react to his chakra and grow longer thereby intertwining with the roots he created. What gave Yamato concern was the giant tree trunk that would become the pylons. He estimated that the most he could do on his own was three and this man wanted forty.

After they got started Yamato was actually able to create four trees before running out of chakra and it was at this point that Tsunade gave him the Green Pepper pill. The effects were almost immediate. Yamato felt his chakra returning and then some.

Tsunade gave Yamato a quick medical scan and said, "Your heart is racing but well within my expectations and your system seems to be handling the extra boost so let get going".

At this point Temari casually sidled up to Tsunade and said "Hokage-sama, we are being watched".

Tsunade, making sure not to acknowledge Temari's presence, said "I know. We picked them up when we left the Building Department but as long as they are just watching I don't give a damn".

The Green Pepper pill gave Yamato enough chakra to create eight more trees and it was during this period that the attacks started. The attacks always came from hidden positions and consisted of Doton jutsus and a few shurikens. The projectile type attacks were easily handled with a wave of Temari's fan but when the Retsudo Tensho (Revolving Split Earth Palm) and the Doton Kekai Dorou Doumu (Earth Barrier – Earth Dome Prison) appeared Tsunade took care of them with her massive strength. One attacker got careless and Temari was able to use Kamaitachi no Jutsu (Cutting Whirlwind Technique) to eliminate him and it wasn't a pretty sight. Now down to two the attackers were becoming much more calculating in their attacks trying to maximize their effects to disrupt group. When the effects of the Green Pepper pill had waned Tsunade gave Yamato the Yellow Pepper pill. Again the effects were astounding, Yamato felt like he could create trees all day long. Tsunade did a medical scan and wasn't too happy with the results.

"His heart rate is faster than I anticipated and all his muscles are tense", she thought, "but I guess we have no choice".

Tsunade turned and asked Temari, "How are our friends doing?"

"After losing one their companions they are staying well out of sight, Hokage-sama" she answered.

Then Tsunade addressed Mamoru, "How are you holding up?"

"I'm fine, Hokage-sama. The last soldier pill you gave me is still working however I feel useless just standing around while you and the young lady do all the fighting, Hokage-sama".

"Right now your job is to save Konoha; it's my job to defend it. So where's our next destination?"

Mamoru checked his topographical maps and said," To the north about three–quarters mile".

"Alright everybody, lets move it", Tsunade said while hoping she wasn't running out of time.

She had tried to contact Hinata and Sakura through the com-links but there had been too much static in the background. Now there could be many reasons for static on a radio communication device but only one kept coming to Tsunade's mind. As Hokage she had read the military reports about teams unable to communicate with each other during the Kyuubi attack seventeen years ago. The static happening now did not bode well as far as Tsunade was concerned however the mere fact that there weren't any tremors meant that Naruto was still in control. Like it or not she would just have put her faith in Naruto that he would be able to hold out a little longer.

With this new burst of chakra Yamato was able to create twelve trees while the group protected him from the pestering attacks. Yamato was getting annoyed with these hit and run tactics and the effect of the pepper pill was heightening his irritation.

At the twentieth position Tsunade asked "How is it going?"

Yamato snapped back, "Fine, if you just leave me alone."

Yamato felt a hand on the back of his vest as he was lifted from his crouched position and held a foot off the ground by the Hokage.

Tsunade looked at Yamato, her eyes hard as steel and said, "I'm going to overlook that remark because I know it the effects of the pills, but don't you ever answer me in that tone again. Do I make myself clear?"

Yamato gulped and said "Yes, Hokage-sama. Forgive me".

While Tsunade was setting Yamato back down she saw movement reflected in one of the windows of a nearby building and deftly removing a shuriken from Yamato's waist pouch flung it catching the Rock nin right between the eyes

Straightening her clothes Tsunade said "Okay now, let's get back to work. We have to save our home".

Jiro, as mentioned before, was first and foremost a strategist and right now none of his strategic training had covered fighting a Kage who had a fan wielding ninja beside her. Jiro had lost both men and he couldn't reach his commander on the com-link. Jiro didn't mind risking his life for the mission, hell he would even give up his life if he thought it would do any good but right now he couldn't justify it. As far as he knew his commander was dead and he was alone in the enemy's village. He figured if he was going to die he might as well die side by side with the men he had trained with for last two years. So Jiro decided to make his way back to the wall where they had entered Konoha before this crazy woman had a chance to screw up the soil and stand with his men hoping somehow the attack would still succeed. He didn't have much hope as strategies couldn't quantify hope and therefore couldn't take hope into account but then again none of the strategies he knew took into account the ability to elevate a whole village.

Tsunade's team had been circling around the area occupied by Naruto and Gaara because it was impossible for the roots to penetrate the chakra soaked soil. Now it was time to force the roots as close as possible into that area and then go beneath the area and form a literal mesh below to support the whole thing. Yamato figured that he should be able to create sixteen trees from the effects of the Red Pepper pill since the results from the previous ones seemed to be multiples of his original abilities.

"Now it's time for the Red pill" said Tsunade, "but this one will be tricky".

Temari, keeping a watch out for the last unknown visitor who seemed to have disappeared, said "How so, Hokage-sama?"

"Well since all these pills are based on the Akimichi physiology they take advantage of body mass to produce excess chakra. Yamato has nowhere near the mass necessary to use the Red pill safely without supplements so I brought some of the old soldier pills to help out."

Temari was confused so she asked, "How will energy pills help fight energy pills?"

"These are some of the first soldier pills created and they were basically just concentrated carbohydrates but they were discontinued because of three major drawbacks. The first drawback was the conversion to energy was slow; the second one was that you could only eat one every twenty-four hours or you risked stomach distention when the pills expanded."

When Tsunade didn't continue Yamato asked, "And what was the third one?"

"Constipation" Tsunade said dismissively.

"The key here is to time the consumption of the X1s while the Red Pepper pill is in effect and not have Yamato stomach burst from eating them too early" Tsunade said.

Tsunade handed Yamato an X1 and said "Swallow it, don't bite it!"

Yamato did as he was told and after a minute he said "Whoa, I feel stuffed."

Tsunade said, "Good, now take the red one".

When Yamato swallowed the red pill he could feel his body flushed with energy. When he looked at his skin he could have sworn it was shining and if he were in the dark he would have bet a month's pay the he was glowing.

Tsunade did a scan and thought "His heart rate and blood pressure are way too high and his endocrine fluid balance is way off but I've got no choice. This will have to do".

With Mamoru's guidance Yamato went to work. At first he created two trees before Tsunade gave him another X1. Next time only one tree was created before he was give another soldier pill. The pattern seemed to be first two trees, then a pill, then one tree and another pill and then two trees again. There were a couple of times it was one tree, one pill and then one tree, one pill again but after that the pattern restarted. After the last tree was created and the mesh of roots were in place under area of Gaara and Naruto, Yamato collapsed on his rear end exhausted. Tsunade gave him one more soldier pill just in case of any lingering effects of the Red Pepper pill and then told Mamoru to get Yamato to the hospital and have Shizune perform a full examination immediately.

With that done Tsunade thanked Mamoru for his help and turning to Temari said "Let's hope this works. Now let's go get Naruto and your brother."

An hour or so had passed since he started this when Naruto, while concentrating on controlling the chakra he was sending into Gaara, suddenly heard a grunt from in front of him.

Naruto asked "Hey Gaara, are you alright?"

"My back is starting to burn, Uzumaki Naruto" Gaara replied.

Naruto looked down at his hands and noticed small streams of red chakra intertwined with the blue.

"I'm not changing Kyuubi's chakra fast enough, Gaara. Do you want to stop?" Naruto asked.

"No, I can handle it" Gaara replied.

Not wanting to cause his friend any pain Naruto yelled, "Sakura, come here quick!"

Sakura, upon hearing her name, turned to see the concern on Naruto's face through the red chakra aura. Coming closer she asked "What is it, Naruto? What wrong?"

"I'm not changing Kyuubi's chakra fast enough! Some of it is getting through and poisoning Gaara! I need you to heal him while we're working!" Naruto replied.

Sakura knew the effects Kyuubi's chakra had on a body having experienced it first hand. She also knew that if she was to help Gaara and they were attacked then Hinata would be all alone.

Sakura understood what she had to do and with the com-links basically useless yelled to Hinata, "I have to help Naruto and Gaara, Hinata, so you have to cover the perimeter by yourself, okay?"

When Hinata heard Sakura's request she answered "Hai".

Hinata had been carefully moving away from Naruto and Gaara to minimize the glare from Naruto/Kyuubi's chakra. However with this new development she had to revise her tactics. She deactivated her bloodlimit and moving next to Sakura, took all but one kunai and all Sakura's shurikens. Then, reactivating her bloodlimit, she started circling the group in order to give her Byakugan the best chance at detecting any potential threats while keeping Naruto and Gaara inside her blind spot as much as possible.

As Toshiro saw the change in formation below him he knew this is the chance he had been awaiting. With one of the guards occupied that left only one against three and he liked those odds. Toshiro told his men to spread out as they were going to attack using two of their three kunais since the guard would not be able to block all six of them at once. Once both men had moved to their new position Toshiro signaled for the attack to begin.

Hinata saw two of the threats suddenly move to their new position and knew an attack was imminent so she signaled Sakura to be prepared. She didn't know what form of attack was coming but she was ready to protect Naruto-kun, Sakura and Gaara with her life. Suddenly six kunais flew towards Naruto, Sakura and Gaara. Hinata noted their positions with her Byakugan then disabled it and concentrating chakra in her legs leapt into the air and threw six shurikens to intercept the enemies. She was able to deflect all the kunais but one did hit the ground between Naruto feet. Once Hinata landed she orientated her blind spot to Naruto and reactivated her bloodlimit.

Toshiro was surprised that this 'little girl' was able to deflect all the kunais. Then he noticed Hinata reactivating her bloodlimit and realized she was a Hyuuga. So Toshiro decided to attack the group directly. But Toshiro was no fool, he would send his two men to attack from opposite ends and he would cover them from his position. Toshiro told one his men, through the static, to move to a hidden position behind the 'medic' and for the other man to move to a hidden position in front of the 'medic'. Then he instructed them to wait until the guard and the medic were lined up on opposite sides and then attack.

Hinata noticed two of the men changing positions and as she neared Sakura in her rotation told Sakura their positions and to be ready for anything. Sakura had been worried that she would deplete her chakra healing Gaara but it seemed Gaara's body was more resistant to demon chakra. She figured it was probably a byproduct of having grown up hosting Shukaku and as such she had more than enough chakra to deal with this moderated threat. Once Hinata moved opposite Sakura the Rock nins made their move.

As Hinata saw the attack begin she knew she had to finish her battle fast if she was going to protect Sakura. She deactivated her Byakugan so as not to be distracted, took two steps to the right, threw a kunai at Sakura's opponent and rushed her opponent head on. The Rock nin started his attack with a forward thrust with his right hand. Hinata parried it with her left hand and use the follow through to aim her elbow at her opponent's head. The Rock nin blocked her elbow with his right palm and brought his left knee up to do a front kick which Hinata blocked with her right knee. The two opponents jumped away from each other and then started trading blows again. Hinata thought that this was taking too long so she faked a wide thrust at her opponents head leaving her chest unprotected hoping he would fall for it. The Rock nin took the bait and as he blocked her jab he thrust his kunai towards her chest. Hinata then bent backwards as she was taught with her Hyuuga training and planted her right palm on her opponent chest. Hinata shot a pulsed of chakra from her hand into his heart which exploded in her opponents chest. Blood spurted from the mouth of the Rock nin as he fell forward barely missing Hinata as she angled out of his path. Hinata then turned to find the location of the other attacker but he was nowhere near Sakura.

Sakura knew she only had one shot at this. When she saw one of the men attacking Hinata in front of her she knew the other would be attacking her unprotected back. As Hinata's kunai flew pass, Sakura split her concentration between fighting the poisonous chakra's effect on Gaara and searching for the foreign chakra of her attacker. Luckily, knowing the attack was coming from behind made it easier to sense the approaching danger. Knowing the general length of a man's arm she listened as her opponent got closer to make sure he didn't throw anything. When she felt him get within range she immediately spun on her right heel and blocked the downward arc of the kunai with her right arm while planting a chakra infused left fist into his chest. The resulting blow shattered the Rock nin's ribcage sending shards of bones into his lungs, heart and spine. As a result the Rock nin died immediately and the body flew across the courtyard hitting the side of a building and bounced onto the ground. Sakura immediately returned her attention to healing Gaara.

Toshiro was furious. These brats were ruining everything. All their planning had not taken this situation into account and thus he wasn't properly prepared. He had one more attack he could try but he had been reluctant to use it at first because it was sure to bring reinforcements but he had no other choice. He took out three small packets and threw them above the teens. As the packets flew above Gaara, Naruto and Sakura the packets burst and confetti fell down upon the trio. Immediately Hinata and Sakura knew that the confetti was really small explosive tags and that there would be no way to stop them without interrupting Gaara and Naruto.

Suddenly Naruto growled out "Hinata get close to us and hang on tight to Sakura".

Hinata looking confused did what Naruto said and planting her feet to the ground with chakra held on to Sakura. Then Naruto let out a growl and a pulse of chakra infused wind flew away from him in all directions whipping past Gaara, Sakura and Hinata ruffling their clothes. As the wind came in contact with the explosive notes it gave Hinata the impression of an expanding bubble with flecks of dust on its surface. The wind carried all the explosive tags away from the teens before the tags exploded with a deafening boom.

Hinata was about to thank Naruto for the help when suddenly Naruto let out a blood curdling scream. Then blood seem to percolate from his skin filling his red chakra shell making it opaque and a fourth tail emerged. From Hinata's perspective Naruto looked like a caricature of a fox that had a face with human features. Sakura had seen this form before and knew that they were in trouble because when Naruto went into four tail mode that meant he couldn't tell friend from foe. She was about to stop healing Gaara and just grab Hinata and run when she notices Naruto's hands. Naruto's hands were still blue. Sure there was an increase of red chakra intertwined with the blue but the majority was still blue chakra. Naruto was still there! Sakura thought if Naruto could still hold himself together enough to save the village then she could too.

Sakura noticed the apprehension in Hinata's eyes and said, "Hinata, look at his hands! He's still there. So we have to continue fighting too!"

Hinata saw that Naruto's hands were indeed blue and replied "Hai" to Sakura.

Then Hinata turn around to get Naruto in her blind spot and activated her bloodlimit. Suddenly Hinata let out a loud scream and fell to her knees covering her eyes.

Sakura yelled "Hinata, What's wrong? What happened?"

As Hinata recovered her senses and turned to answer, Sakura could see that Hinata's eyes were bloodshot.

"Naruto's chakra is too bright. I can't use my Byakugan", Hinata answered.

Sakura asked, "Can you take out the final one without your Byakugan?"

"If he was a Jounin I would have to say no but luckily his chakra coils shows that he is at Chuunin level", she answered.

Sakura couldn't believe that the enemy would send three chuunins to attack the village but in their present situation she had no choice but accept Hinata's assessment.

"So do you have a plan?" she asked Hinata.

Hinata said, "Yes, but I am going to need your help".

Toshiro was livid. Two years worth of planning was being thwarted by two girls, Konoha's jinchuuriki and the Kazekage of the Sand. Now the Kazekage of the Sand was rumored not to be this strong without the Shukaku and the Kyuubi brat wasn't rumored to know any Doton jutsus. He was about to retreat when something interesting happened. The Kyuubi brat had started howling and changing form right before his eyes. But that wasn't the interesting part. What was interesting was the Hyuuga girl's reaction to the change. Now everything was starting to make sense. Toshiro had been wondering why the Hyuuga girl's circling pattern had seemed somewhat unnatural; the Kyuubi brat's chakra was blinding her. So if he got the Kyuubi brat between her and him, he could attack the medic first and then deal with the Hyuuga later. Toshiro knew he would have to move fast but as long as he struck before getting within range of the medic then he could take her out easily. When the Hyuuga girl started her patrol Toshiro tensed and got ready to make his move. As soon as the Kyuubi brat was between him and the Hyuuga girl Toshiro raced out to attack the medic.

Hinata had lied to Sakura. She knew the last attacker was at least Jounin level maybe higher but she didn't want to distract Sakura from her job. She knew that as soon as the last enemy attacked she was going to have to use her Byakugan to take a snapshot of his position in her mind before she was blinded by Naruto's chakra. She was hoping Sakura would be able to give her enough warning in order to act quickly.

Sakura was getting tired. Naruto's recent change was causing her to devote a lot more chakra to fighting the poisonous effects of Kyuubi's chakra on Gaara and Gaara was sweating and grunting more often than she cared to hear. Now she had to be bait for Hinata's trap and hope she would be able to give sufficient warning so as not to die as well. She was having a hard time even sensing Hinata's chakra as Naruto's chakra was blanketing the area. As she split her concentration and searched for foreign chakra she found nothing. She was starting to get worried when suddenly she felt something but it was not chakra, it was killing intent.

As soon as she felt it getting closer she yelled "NOW!"

Hinata concentrated chakra into her legs and leapt backwards over Sakura, pirouetted in the air and activated her Byakugan. As her eyes burned she let loose a volley of shurikens and the rest of her kunais in a broad pattern at her opponent and then covering her eyes, screamed, and landed as best she could. Toshiro had to stop and change direction to dodge the volley as best he could but caught two shurikens across his right thigh and though it wasn't fatal it hurt like hell.

Hinata held her eyelids tightly closed as she knelt down on one knee while whimpering silently wishing the pain would just go away.

Her blood suddenly felt cold as she heard her opponent say "Not bad little girl you actually nicked me. But now I am going to kill you and then use all these weapons you gave me to kill your friends".

Hinata started to panic. Not only had she failed, she had let Sakura down. She had let Konoha down. But most importantly she had let Naruto down and now they were going to die. As she prepared herself for death Hinata heard the sound of gravel being crushed in front of her and a little to the right. She knew exactly where the enemy was and more importantly he was within her range for Hakke Rokujuuyonshou (Eight Divination Signs, Sixty-Four Palms of the Hand). Hinata knew that she would have to rely on her memory to hit all the tenketsus but right now it was her only hope.

Hinata leapt at her opponent and started her family technique; "Two hits" she said as she felt skin beneath her hands.

She yelled "Four hits" as again she felt her hand come into contact with his body as she hoped to Kami she was hitting the tenketsus.

Hinata ran through the whole technique letting her body go into automatic mode and picturing in her mind her opponent's body as a practice dummy on the Hyuuga estate. After completing the final move and yelling "Sixty-four hits" Hinata stood frozen and listen to hear the body fall. When no sound came to her ears she started to panic, fearing she had failed and now she didn't know where her opponent was located. Just as she was about to back away she heard the satisfying thud as her enemy hit the ground.

Then Hinata heard Sakura yell, "Hinata, you did it!"

Hinata turned towards Sakura and replied "Thank you, Sakura".

Then Hinata asked, "Sakura, could you please keep talking so that I can find you?"

Sakura looked concern and said, "What's the matter with your eyes, Hinata?"

Hinata replied, "I needed my Byakugan to win and now I can't see".

Sakura kept talking while Hinata gingerly made her way towards Sakura and upon reaching her sat down at Sakura's feet and wept silently. As Sakura kept fighting the poisonous chakra in Gaara's body she looked down at Hinata and noticed Hinata's tears were tainted red with blood.

Sakura was exhausted. Naruto and Gaara were holding Konoha together and Sakura was holding Gaara together. Naruto's head was starting to thrash about and he was growling more frequently. Even though his hands were still blue the amount of red chakra was increasing and Gaara was starting to tremble. She felt that if Tsunade didn't return soon she would collapse from chakra exhaustion. Plus Sakura knew that if they were attacked Hinata would be helpless and there was no way she could fight under these conditions. As she stood there wondering how much longer she could last she heard the crunch of gravel behind her. She didn't know if she should turn and confront the intruder or just stand there ready to take the blow when she heard a familiar strong voice say "Okay Naruto, you and Gaara can stop now".

Sakura smiled in relief as she stopped the chakra flowing through her hands and sat down next to Hinata. However her relief was short-lived when she heard Tsunade repeat her command "Naruto, I said you and Gaara can stop now".

Sakura looked at Naruto to see he was still in four-tail mode and still pumping chakra into Gaara's body. Sakura tried to reach up and touch Naruto thinking she could shake him out of his trance but as Sakura's hand got closer Naruto let out a sudden burst of chakra infused wind sending both Hinata and Sakura tumbling towards Tsunade.

Temari looking shocked yelled "What the hell was that?"

Tsunade, without taking her eyes off Naruto, asked "Sakura, Hinata are you okay?"

Sakura stood shakily and staring at Naruto in confusion said "Hai, Tsunade-shishiou".

Hinata pulled herself into a sitting position towards Tsunade's voice and answered "Hai, Hokage-sama".

Temari, not getting any reply to her first question, yelled again, "What just happened? Why did Naruto attack them?"

Tsunade replied, "In four-tail mode Naruto can't tell friend from foe".

Then Temari asked, "If that is true then why didn't he attack Gaara?"

At that point Sakura added, "Yes, and look at his hands, they are still blue, Tsunade-shishiou".

Tsunade had already noticed Naruto's hands and said, "It seems Naruto is still in there somewhere and subconsciously he is still in a 'protect Konoha' mode".

Sakura asked "What do we do?"

Tsunade was wondering the same thing. She needed to separate Naruto from Gaara before Kyuubi's chakra killed him but how to do it with hurting either one of them. Doton (earth) jutsus were out of the question because the ground was saturated with Kyuubi's chakra. Katon (fire) jutsus were too wide ranging and thus would probably injure Gaara and besides it probably wouldn't work on the Kyuubi anyway. Raiton (lightning) jutsus were also wide ranging and the short range attacks required physical contact which would result in poisoning the attacker. Tsunade decided to try a Suiton (water) jutsu as she could control it just to hit Naruto and leave Gaara relatively untouched.

Tsunade told the girls, "Ladies, get behind me. I am going to try something and I don't how Naruto will react".

After Sakura and Hinata were next to Temari and behind the Hokage, Tsunade unleashed a Suiton Daibakufu no jutsu (Water pillar) attack at Naruto hoping to separate him from Gaara or at least break his concentration. When the column of water 'hit' Naruto it just split into two columns rushing past him with steam coming from the point of contact. Naruto turned his head and looked at his 'attackers' and growled but didn't move towards them.

Then Temari stepped forward and said "Let me try something".

Removing her fan from her back Temari snapped it opened and sent a column of wind towards Naruto. Again the column split into two upon contact with Naruto having no effect while Naruto stared back growling. Tsunade didn't want to use anything stronger against Naruto but she saw no other option because if this lasted any longer he was going to kill Gaara. So as Tsunade was preparing to use her enormous strength to strike at Naruto and take her chances with chakra poisoning she heard a voice cry out "Naruto-kun, please stop!"

Tsunade turned to see Hinata standing with her hands clasped together near her chest, eyes closed with tears streaming down her face, pleading with the boy and that when Tsunade noticed that the growling had stopped. She turned to see Naruto staring at Hinata but with a curious look on his face.

While watching the change in Naruto Tsunade said, "Hinata, keep talking!"

Upon hearing the Hokage's voice, Hinata pled again, "Please Naruto-kun, stop. We're all safe now".

Naruto stared at Hinata for a while cocking his head first to the right and then to the left and as Hinata kept pleading, as if some switch had been turned off, all of his tails disappeared and the red chakra dissipated while he collapsed onto the ground. Gaara was still standing until he felt Temari touch his shoulder and then he too collapsed. When Gaara collapsed all of Konoha shuddered as the full weight of the village settled onto the web of roots created by Yamato. Everyone stood deathly still while waiting to see if the plan had indeed worked.

After about a minute when Tsunade was convinced it was working, she yelled "Get them to the hospital now!! And remove those bodies!"

The Anbu who had accompanied Tsunade went to Naruto and Gaara and so the Hokage turned to Hinata and Sakura to see how they were doing. When Tsunade had gotten a good look at the girls she asked "Sakura, Hinata, how are you guys feeling?"

Sakura replied "I am fine, Tsunade-shishiou" and then she collapsed into Tsunade's arms.

Hinata stood there with her eyes closed and asked "Is Naruto-kun going to be alright?"

Tsunade studied the girl and said "Yes, I am sure he will be fine. Now tell me what's wrong with your eyes?"

Hinata just stood still with her hands clasped in front of her and quietly said "I can not see, Hokage-sama".


	3. Chapter 3

The Aftermath

The bright sun shone through the window, reflecting off the mirror and into the face of the occupant of the only bed in the room. Naruto groaned as the insistent intruder aroused him from his sleep. Keeping his eyes closed, he tried to turn over to continue his dream when a sudden pain shot through his whole body.

"Ow, ow, ow" he said as he gingerly tried to return to his original position.

His whole body was sore as if he had lost a fight with Rock Lee after racing Lee around Konoha twenty times. As he lay there trying to figure out way he was so sore he started to notice a certain smell in the room.

"I know that smell" he thought as he tried to identify the culprit.

As his mind started to focus the identity of the odor came to him, antiseptic and chlorine. And the only time he had ever smelled those two odors together was in a hospital. Suddenly his memories of the previous battle flooded his mind.

Naruto quickly sat up ignoring the pain and looked around. The last thing he remembered was hearing someone saying something about the village being safe. The village may be all right but he didn't know if his friends were okay, especially Hinata, Gaara and Sakura. Grimacing through the pain Naruto swung his legs over to the side of the bed and tried to stand. Though he was now standing his legs felt as if a thousand needles were piercing each leg. As he tried to walk he lost his balance and fell against the support stand which was used to hold his food when present. This sent the empty support stand crashing to the ground. The noise caused a nurse, who was passing by, to look into the room. As she stood in the doorway and saw Naruto on his feet trying to walk, she leaned back into the hallway and called for someone to get the Hokage. Then the nurse came into the room and tried to get Naruto to go back to the bed telling him he shouldn't be up. When the nurse grabbed his midsection the pain shot through his nervous system but Naruto just ignored it and kept asking the nurse if Hinata, Sakura and Gaara was okay and did everyone survive.

Tsunade finally came through the door and helped the nurse force Naruto back into bed.

"The village? Is the village okay?" asked Naruto.

"Don't worry, everything is fine. There was some damage but nothing major." answered Tsunade.

"We have our own Doton users filling in the gap between the bedrock and the supported area. Buildings with underground sections will have to be inspected and either shored up or torn down entirely" she added.

"What about Gaara; is Gaara alright?" asked Naruto.

"Yes the Kazakage is fine. He is resting a couple of doors down and he'll be able to leave in a couple of days", said Tsunade.

"Even though Kyuubi's chakra is poisonous to others it seems as if Gaara was better able to tolerate it since he once was the container to Shukaku.", she added.

"Great, great, I am glad to hear that", replied Naruto.

The one thing he always dreaded was that he might hurt one of his friends while using the demon's chakra.

Somewhat relaxed Naruto asked, "How about Hinata and Sakura?"

"Sakura's fine, she's just suffering from chakra exhaustion. But Hinata …" Tsunade replied hesitantly.

Suddenly Naruto felt as if a stone had just dropped in his stomach. Apprehensively he asked "What happened to Hinata?"

"She will be fine in a couple of weeks but right now she's suffering from severe eye strain." answered Tsunade.

"It seems that using the Byakugan too close to your four-tail form can be blinding to the Hyuugas. She'll have to wear bandages for the next two weeks until her eyes recover."

"Great, that's just fantastic" Naruto thought sarcastically.

"I don't even have to attack my friends in Kyuubi mode to be a danger, all I have to do is stand near them" he thought.

And here he was thinking that maybe he and Hinata might just be able to make it as a couple. After the incident with Pein and Hinata's confession, Naruto was unsure how he felt about her but ever since they had been going out he had become quite comfortable with her around. When she had made her confession of love to him Naruto was shocked to say the least. When they were finally able to talk about it Naruto was confused and apprehensive. No one had ever said that they loved him. When he realized that Hinata really loved him he was so filled with emotion he wanted to say 'I love you' back. However he was scared that he was just happy to be loved and he really didn't have true feeling for Hinata. He might have felt these same emotions if Tsunade, Shuzune or Ayame nee-chan had said "I love you". Hell, he might have felt these emotions if twelve year-old Moegi had confessed her love. So being able to hang out with her this last year had given him a chance to really understand how he felt about her. And now that he had finally come to realize that he really liked her and maybe even loved her, his 'curse' shows up to drive a wedge between them.

"Hell, she probably doesn't even want to see me ever again", he thought.

Tsunade noticed Naruto going into a pensive mode and not wanting him to dwell on any guilt he felt for Hinata's predicament said, "Don't you want to know what happened to the Village?"

This had the desired effect as Naruto said, "Of course I do. What happened? Who attacked us?"

"We were attacked by one hundred ninjas in twenty-five groups of four. Each group consisted of one Doton user and three guards. From what I can tell after examining the bodies, the Doton users were medically enhance to provide the most chakra they could at the expense of their bodies." Tsunade explained.

"Basically their bodies performed physically what the Akimichi's Pepper pills do chemically" she added, "and you recall what happened to Chouji when I sent you after Sasuke the first time?"

Naruto knew too well what had happened back then so he asked, "Did anyone survive?"

"Well after we stabilized the Village and made sure the civilians were safe, Shikamaru was able to send out patrols to search the surrounding area" Tsunade answered.

"The attackers were in the surrounding forest outside the wall and they fought hard but were ill-equipped for full battle. Those that survived the battle took suicide pills so that they couldn't be questioned and the Doton users just died from chakra exhaustion" she continued.

After thinking for while Naruto asked "One hundred ninja's just don't come out of nowhere and attack a hidden village. Do you know who was behind this?"

Tsunade sat down in the chair next to Naruto's bed, crossed her left leg over her right knee and said, "Rock. The Hidden Village Among the Rocks was behind the attack".

Naruto looked at Tsunade with confusion written all over his face and then asked "Are we now at war with the Earth Country?"

Tsunade kept her face still and said "No".

Now Naruto was totally lost. After fully registering what Tsunade said he started to yell "What do you mean, we are not at war with Earth?" "Rock just attacked for no reason, nearly destroying our home and almost killing Gaara, the Kazekage of the Sand Village, and WE ARE NOT GOING TO FIGHT BACK?!!"

Tsunade looked at the young man before her who would probably be her successor and thought "Now is your first lesson in international politics".

"The reason we are not going to war with the Earth Country is because they have denied any knowledge of the attack" Tsunade answered.

Naruto was in total shock. "How can they send one hundred Rock ninjas to attack our village and then act like it wasn't their fault?" he asked.

Tsunade looked him straight in the eyes and said "All the attackers were listed as missing nins".

Seeing the confusion on Naruto's face she continued "For the last eighteen months the Hidden Village of Rock has been reporting a large number of missing nins." "Now every village, now and then, has trouble with ninjas dealing with the stress of our jobs or whatever and on average loses about ten to fifteen ninjas per year. Rock, because of their harsh training methods, tends to lose about twenty-five per year. However, no one has ever lost one hundred ninjas in such a short time". "And to make matters even more strange, the missing nins were never seen in public again".

Naruto looked at Tsunade and said "Well if no one has ever lost a hundred nins before why weren't you worried about it?"

"We were worried about it and so were the other Villages. However Rock took that into account because at the same time rumors started to leak out about a possible civil war in Rock and that the missing nins were probably forming an opposition army" she answered.

"Now it is obvious that Rock was keeping them hidden within their village and training them for this attack" Tsunade said.

"Ever since Jiraiya's death our information gathering has not been what it used to be", she said more to herself than to Naruto.

Naruto noticing the sadness in Tsunade's eyes said "So Rock sends a suicide squad to attack us and if it succeeds then they move into our territory. On the other hand if the attack fails then they wipe their hands of it and say it was a rouge group of missing nins. Is that about it?"

Tsunade having recovered her composure just looked at him and said "Yes".

Now Naruto was fuming, "There is no way a random group of one hundred missing nins would decide to get together and attack a hidden village on their own. They would need food, shelter, weapons and the money to buy those supplies. It is obvious that this is an attack planned by Earth".

Tsunade just looked at Naruto and said "Yes it is obvious but by Earth declaring these ninjas missing and having them registered in the Bingo Books as such, they can't be held responsible for what they do. It's international law. And it's a law that all the Elemental countries have agreed to uphold". "If every Elemental Country was held responsible for what their rouge ninjas did then there would never be peace between us only wars. The Bingo Books were originally set up to list criminal threats, both ninja and civilian, and to offer a bounty for their capture. However as time passed each country decided they needed an internal Bingo Books listing anyone who was a personal threat to that country alone. These internal Bingo Books are eventually found on the Black Market and then make their way to the other Elemental Countries. That why people like Jaraiya, Kakashi and me are listed in the Bingo Books. " "And yes even you are now listed in some of them, Naruto".

Naruto, looking down into his clenched fists in his lap, muttered "It just not right".

Tsunade just stood up and said "No, it isn't. Welcome to international politics."

As she turned to leave she said "Just take comfort that they lost one hundred ninjas while we only lost a few. And we still have our home". "Now get some rest because you aren't fully recovered yet."

With that statement, Tsunade left the room.

Naruto stayed in bed for the rest of the day. He had a few visitors like Iruka, Kakashi, Shikamaru and even Sai but the three main people, Hinata, Sakura and Gaara, were absent because they were still recovering. As he thought about it he started to wonder if he should even try to see Hinata. It felt great to have Neji trust him to protect her in dangerous situations but now it seems he can't even protect her from himself. Even though he really didn't want to, his body's need to recuperated cause Naruto to drift off into a deep sleep.

The next day Naruto felt a lot better. He still felt exhausted but at least he could move without every nerve screaming in pain. After laying there a while looking out the window Naruto heard a soft knock at his door.

"Come in" he replied.

When the door opened he saw Sakura standing wearing the white gown all hospital patients wore.

Naruto grinned and said, "Hey Sakura, I'm glad you're okay!" "Come on, come in and sit down!"

As Sakura entered Naruto thought something looked wrong with Sakura but he couldn't figure out what.

Sakura sat in the chair next to Naruto's bed and smiling asked "How are you feeling today?"

Naruto answered "I am feeling great but Tsunade baa-chan still won't let me leave yet".

Sakura just folded her arms and looking Naruto directly in the eyes and said "If you're feeling so great than how come you didn't come visit me?"

Having been caught Naruto rubbed the back of his head, put on his cheesiest grin and said "Well, I guess I'm not that ready to leave".

Wanting to get the attention off him Naruto said, "Hey, are you okay? I heard that you were suffering from chakra exhaustion. Should you be walking around?"

Sakura just waved her hand in dismal saying "I'm fine. As long as I don't try any techniques for a few days I can leave by tomorrow."

"So did Tsunade tell you what happened?" Sakura asked.

"Yeah, and I think it sucks!" said Naruto.

"I know but what can Tsunade do? We can't just attack Rock without solid proof of their involvement. It would justify the Earth Country and its allies declaring war on Fire Country and our allies and then the next thing you know, another Great Ninja War" Sakura said.

"Yeah, yeah, I know and actually I agree but it just bothers me when I see injustice like this" Naruto replied.

Sakura looked somber and said "I know but at least our home, our families and our friends are safe".

"So, when are you going to be strong enough to see Hinata?" she added.

Naruto just looked down at his hands and said nothing.

Sakura found this very puzzling and asked "What the matter?"

Naruto looked up and said "I don't know. I was thinking maybe I shouldn't ever see her again."

Sakura was shocked. "What do you mean? Why won't you see her?" she asked.

When Naruto looked at Sakura she thought she saw this eyes glisten and then he said "It's because of me that she got hurt. It would probably be better if I just stayed away from her".

Sakura stood up and smacked Naruto across the head.

Grimacing Naruto grabbed his head and yelled "Hey, what the hell did you do that for? Why are you always hitting me?"

"Look Naruto", Sakura said softly, "I know I haven't been very nice to you when we were little. Whenever something wasn't going right in my life I always took it out on you because you were always there. Often you didn't deserve it but there were a few times when you did and right now this is one of them!"

Still holding his head Naruto said, "What the hell are you talking about? What did I do?"

Sakura looked at him sharply and said, "You have the best thing happening to you in your life and you just want to throw it away. Just because Hinata got hurt defending you, you're just going to run away in order to 'protect' her? Why you sexist pig! The kunoichis of this village have every right to defend and even die to protect our village, our families and our friends."

Naruto replied sharply "But this is different! She didn't get hurt protecting me like she did when she fought Pein. I HURT HER!"

Sakura sat back down in the chair and said softly "Naruto, you didn't attack Hinata. If you run away from her now you will be giving up the best thing you've ever had in your life. I mean, I have never seen this side of you before you two got together. And I'm not talking about happiness, I'm talking about contentment. When you two are together you smile real smiles. You don't brag as much. You don't talk as loud as you used to do. When you're with her it is almost as if you have found your second half. And you would have to be the biggest baka in the world to give that up."

"Yeah, I know but now she is probably scared of me. She probably doesn't even want to have anything to do with since she saw the Kyuubi" Naruto said quietly looking into his lap.

"Do you remember what happened out there after Tsunade returned and told us the village was safe?" Sakura asked.

Naruto looked at Sakura and said, "Actually I don't remember much after the explosive tags".

"Well," Sakura replied "you were in some kind of automatic mode and you wouldn't end the chakra transfer jutsu. We all tried to get you to stop before you could hurt Gaara with Kyuubi's chakra but the only one you listened to was Hinata. She didn't run away. She stood there and pleaded with you to stop and you did".

Naruto just sat there looking at his lap.

"Look, you once made a lifetime promise to me that you would bring Sasuke back to me and you kept that promise" Sakura said. "And in four more years after his sentence is served we will be Team Seven again" she added.

"Now I am going to make a promise of a lifetime to Hinata right now" she said.

Naruto looked up at Sakura with confusion in his eyes.

"I promise Hinata that I'm going to bring you back to her even if I have to beat some sense into your thick skull" Sakura said.

Naruto looked shocked when he heard what she said.

"And you might was well give up because I learned how to do that from my teammate and he's the best" she said as she smiled at him.

"He taught me to never go back on my word because that's my…" "Nindo" she heard him say at the same time.

"Now are you going to go see her?" Sakura asked.

Naruto smiled and "Yeah".

"Good" Sakura said. "Now it's time I got out of here before Shizune-sempai finds out I'm gone" she added.

As Sakura rose from the chair and turned to leave Naruto suddenly figure out what was different about her hospital gown. Sakura had on two gowns but the outside one was worn backwards.

Naruto said "Hey, Sakura, why are you wearing two gowns?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder and said "Do you think I am going to walk around this place only wearing one gown. I work here so I know how this place operates".

And with that Sakura waved bye and walked to the door, opened it and peered out, making sure to peek down both sides of the hallway before leaving.

It wasn't until after lunch that Naruto start to feel like his old self. He figured one more good night sleep and he would be well enough to leave whether Tsunade agreed or not because if he had to eat this bland hospital food much longer he thought he would go crazy. Since he had forgotten to ask Sakura which room Hinata was occupying he had to ask the nurse who informed him that Hyuuga-san was just down the hall to the right. He also found out that after Gaara's initial examination he was transferred to his suite at the Ho-oo Hotel. Naruto made a mental note to check up on Gaara before Gaara left the village. Grabbing a spare hospital gown Naruto put it on just like Sakura had done earlier and headed for Hinata's room. When Naruto was still two doors away the door to Hinata's room open and out walked Hyuuga Hiashi followed by Hanabi, Hinata's younger sister. Both parties stopped and looked at each other. As Hiashi apprised the young man who had once again save the village he thought that it was a shame that nothing could come from their relationship as it would advantageous to be related to the future Hokage.

Finally Hiashi spoke, "Uzumaki-san, she is awake. You may see her."

Naruto, for the most part, still did not like Hiashi but he was Hinata's father so he just gave a nod of his head and said "Thank you, Sir".

With that Hiashi and Hanabi moved pass Naruto and left the hospital. Naruto took a quick glance over his shoulder at the retreating pair and then moved to Hinata's room. Just as he was about to knock a wave of insecurity hit him.

"What if Sakura is wrong", he thought, "What if she had a chance to think it over and she doesn't want to see me anymore".

As Naruto began to withdraw his hand and turn away he stopped and thought, "No! If Hinata doesn't want to see me anymore let her say it with her own voice".

With that thought Naruto knocked lightly on the door and when he heard her voice answer, took a deep breathe and entered.

When Hinata heard the knock at her door she said "Come in". She waited until the caller announced themselves and after a few seconds wondered if she had imagined it. Suddenly she felt it, that feeling she associated with warmth and security. A big smile broke out on her face and turning towards the door she said "Naruto-kun! You came to visit. Are you okay?"

When Naruto first entered the room he saw Hinata sitting in her bed facing ahead with bandages across her eyes. He felt bad that she had to suffer for what he had sealed inside of him. Hinata's voice jarred him back to reality and he answered "Hey, Hinata, yeah I'm fine".

"Good, Tsunade-sama told me you were awake but she would let me come see you" Hinata said.

When Naruto heard the words 'see you' he cringed. Then Naruto walked closer to Hinata's bed and pulling the single chair in the room under him, sat down and said "Hinata, I am so sorry".

Hinata was puzzled by Naruto's voice and asked "Why, Naruto-kun? What did you do?"

"Your eyes were damaged because of me and I would understand if you never wanted me to come near you again" Naruto answered, his voice full of regret.

Hinata reached out her hand to towards Naruto and moved it back and forth until Naruto grabbed it. Then Hinata said, "Naruto-kun, my eyes are going to be fine. Tsunade-sama said that I can take these bandages off after two weeks and then I will be able to see you again."

Naruto looked at Hinata and said "You mean that you don't hate me for what happened?"

Hinata gave a small giggle and said "Naruto-kun, I could never hate you. I once told you 'I love you' and I meant it. I love your messy hair. I love your cobalt blue eyes. I love your birthmark. I love your determination. I love your loyalty to your friends and the village. I love your anger against injustice. I love the marks on your face that look like whiskers. I love everything about you."

"But weren't you scared by the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked.

Hinata's head moved down as if she was looking into her lap and she answered "I'll admit that when you changed into that horrid four-tail beast I was frightened but then I remembered that it was Naruto-kun inside and that I would be safe".

"But you got hurt just by being next to me" Naruto said.

Quietly Hinata replied, "Naruto-kun, I almost died protecting you from Pein and I would face a thousand more like him for you. If I had to lose my eyes in order to keep you safe than that would a very small price that I would gladly pay."

Hinata was looking in Naruto's direction when she finished and Naruto thought "Even with her eyes covered she was the most beautiful girl I have ever seen".

As Naruto stared at Hinata he found himself drawing closer and closer to her face when suddenly there was a knock at the door and the nurse walked in. After Hinata's last speech the room had gotten quieter and Hinata started to wonder if she had said too much. She thought back to her conversation with Kurenai and wondered if she was going too fast for Naruto, if she was pressuring him into something he wasn't ready for. Hinata was about to say something when she heard the knock at the door and the voice of the nurse saying "Excuse me, Hyuuga-sama but it is time to check your bandages".

Hinata heard Naruto move the chair as he stepped out of the way and then she heard him say "Well, I better be going now so I'll see you tomorrow".

Hinata replied "I am being released tomorrow to go home and rest, Naruto-kun".

Naruto said "Oh! Can I walk you home then?"

Hinata blushed and said "Yes, I would like that very much. Thank you".

"Alright then, I see you tomorrow" Naruto replied and then Hinata heard the sound of the door opening and closing.

When Naruto left it had suddenly occurred to Hinata that not once had she stuttered. She didn't understand why, maybe it was the fact that see wasn't looking at him or maybe it was because she felt his presence. She didn't know why it happened but she was glad it had finally happened.

Check out time at the Konoha Hospital is eleven a.m.; Uzumaki Naruto was out of there at eight a.m. When the nurse entered the room to check on him she found his bed empty and his clothes gone. Running out of the room and into the hall she spied Shuzune walking towards her so she called "Shizune-sempai, come quick. Uzumaki-san…."

Shizune held up her hand with the palm facing the nurse to stop her from continuing and said "Don't tell me, Naruto is gone, right?"

The nurse just nodded her head. Shizune smiled and said "I'm surprised he lasted this long. Just have his dismal papers prepared and I'll sign them" and with that Shizune continued her morning rounds.

Naruto was correct when he felt one more night sleep and he'd be back to normal so now the first thing on his mind was food, GOOD FOOD! "First stop, Ichiraku Ramen stand!" he thought as he leapt away from his hospital window. Teuchi had the water in his pot boiling and was preparing the vegetables when his daughter Ayame was opening the door for business. The shop had expanded after the devastating attack from Pein and because of that business had picked up considerably.

Ayame was squatting behind the counter getting the condiment ready for the customers when she heard a familiar voice say, "Hey Ayame nee-chan, Hey Oji-san, bring whatever you got ready, I'm starved".

Ayame stood up smiling and said, "Naruto-kun! You're out of the hospital already? How are you feeling?"

Teuchi's head poked out from the kitchen door and smiling said "Hey Naruto! Welcome back!"

Naruto moved to the counter and sitting down in his usual spot said, "I am great and thanks but right now I haven't had any real food in three days. So whatever you got ready, bring it on!"

"Coming right up" Teuchi said and then he disappeared behind the kitchen door.

Ayame leaned on the counter in front of Naruto with her arms folded and her elbows supporting her upper body and said "So where Hinata?"

The gleam in Naruto's eyes dulled and he answered, "Oh, she hurt her eyes during the attack and had to stay in the hospital for a while".

As he noticed the concern in Ayame's face he quickly added "Don't worry about it because Tsunade baa-chan said she's going to be all right and Hinata is being released tomorrow to rest at home. As a matter of fact I'm gonna walk her home myself".

Ayame smiled and said "That good. So have you told her yet?"

Naruto looked at Ayame in confusion and asked "Told her what?"

Ayame looked right in his eyes and said "Have you told her that you love her?"

Naruto answered "No not yet….Hey, wait a minute! How did you know that how I feel? I only figured that out this last night."

"Naruto-kun" Ayame said, "I've known you almost all your life and I have seen you when you had good days and I've seen you when you had bad days. But in all that time the only times I have seen you relaxed and comfortable had been these last few months when you are with her. When you are with Hinata you aren't anxious about impressing someone, you're not as loud as you usually are and you don't brag as much about how great you are".

Upon hearing that Naruto crossed his arm and muttered "I don't brag a lot".

Ayame gave him a warm smile and said "Yes you do, but don't worry about it because that one of the things Dad and I love about you".

After hearing that Naruto uncrossed his arm, put his right hand behind his head and grinning said "Okay, maybe I do brag a little bit".

Ayame just looked at him as a big sister would her little brother and said "So when are you going to tell her?"

"I was thinking I would tell her when I walked her home today" he answered.

"You know, she has liked you for along time" Ayame said.

"Yeah, she told me about that" he admitted.

"Occasionally I would see her standing across the street watching you eat and you didn't even notice" she added.

"Yeah, some ninja I turned out to be" Naruto said ruefully.

"You turned out to be a great ninja" Teuchi said as he walked through the kitchen door carrying a big bowl of noodles crammed with all kinds of seafood like scallops, squid and crab.

Naruto was stunned by the amount of food and once he recovered he said "You didn't have that already prepared for just anyone?"

Teuchi chuckled and said "You are right. I only make this for my special customers and today it on the house".

Naruto just stared at the food and said "Free for me? Why?"

"Naruto, everyone in the village is talking about what you did. My boy, if it wasn't for you my little restaurant wouldn't be around anymore. Kami, this whole village wouldn't be around anymore. So I wanted to say 'thank you' by making you the best meal in all of Konoha".

Ayame could see Naruto's eyes glisten and he said "Thanks oji-san".

Quickly recovering Naruto grabbed the chopsticks, broken them in half and shouted "Idatakimasu!" before attacking the food with gusto.

After leaving Teuchi and Ayame Naruto decided to see how Gaara was doing. Naruto had learned that after Gaara's initial checkup by Tsunade he had been move back to the Dignitary Suites at Konoha's finest hotel, The Ho-oo Hotel (The Phoenix Hotel). As Naruto was walking towards the hotel he noticed that everyone he passed was waving at him or smiling and saying "Good morning, Uzumaki-san".

When Naruto reach the door of the Ho-oo Hotel the doorman bowed to him and said "Welcome Uzumaki-san" and then he held the door open for Naruto.

A little stunned Naruto just nodded and said Uh, thanks" and walked into the lobby.

Naruto was amazed at the splendor of the Ho-oo Hotel as he had never been inside such a fancy place as this before. When Naruto reached the reception desk a young woman of about twenty smiled at him and said "Welcome Uzumaki-san, how may I help you?"

As Naruto looked at the woman he wondered "Did she just wink at me?"

Remembering why he was there Naruto said "Uh, oh yes, I came to see Ga…the Kazekage of the Sand. Which room is he in?"

The receptionist said "Umm; let me check the register", and as she was looking over the entries she leaned forward making sure Naruto had a view of the cleavage of her ample bosom. After she felt she had given him a good look she leaned back and said "Oh yes, of course, how silly of me. He's on the top floor, the Dignitary Suites. Just take the elevator over there".

Naruto just stared for a second and then said "Uh, okay...yeah…uh…thanks".

As he turned to go to the elevator the receptionist purred "Uzumaki-san, I get off work at seven" and again winked at him.

When the elevator reached the top floor the doors opened and Naruto was confronted by two guards wearing hia-ate with leaf symbols. When the guards recognized who he was they both bowed and "Uzumaki-san, how can we help you?"

Naruto said "Uh, yeah, which way to the Kazekage's room?"

The guard on the right pointed to the right and said "The door is this way, Uzumaki-san".

As Naruto turned right as he left the elevator he saw a large double door at the end of the hallway flanked by two more guards. When Naruto reached the door both guards bowed greeting him and then the guard on the right knocked on the door behind him. Soon Naruto heard Temari's voice coming through the door saying "Yes, what is it?"

The guard on the right replied "Uzumaki Naruto-san is here to see the Kazekage".

Naruto heard the door unlocking and as it opened he saw Temari's face appear first with a guarded look and then smiling in recognition.

Temari's said "Naruto, it good to see you up already. Please, come on inside".

After Naruto had entered and Temari was closing the door, he noticed Temari had her hidden hand firmly on her fan. When Temari had noticed where Naruto was looking she said "Even in friendly territory one can never be too careful".

Then Temari said "Gaara is resting on the sofa, this way" and she led Naruto from the entryway to an open area where he found Gaara resting with his feet up reading a scroll.

When Gaara saw Naruto he said "Uzumaki Naruto, it is good to see you up" and as he started to get up Temari yelled "Don't you dare get up!" "You are not fully recovered and you should still be resting in bed. I allowed you to read those intelligence reports from the Hokage because you promise me you wouldn't move from that couch".

As Gaara eased himself back down he said "Temari, I feel fine. There is no need for you to worry about me".

Temari said "Look, you may be the Kazekage but I am still your older sister and will always worry about you. So until The Hokage or your doctor gives you a clean bill of health you will do as I say, got it!"

Gaara just sighed but Naruto busted out laughing. Then Temari turned on him and placing her hands on her hips asked "What's so funny?"

Naruto tried to calm down saying "Man, I thought I had it tough with Sakura but you, Temari, are just as bad".

Temari just crossed her arms and huffed "Well, if you men didn't always think that you were invincible we women wouldn't have to treat you like children".

After Naruto had calmed down he said "I just came by to thank you guys for all the help you gave me and my village." "I'm just sorry you had to get hurt because of me" he added.

"Uzumaki Naruto, I would not be alive right now to get hurt if it wasn't for you' Gaara replied. "You helped me when I didn't even know I needed help when you showed me that fighting for loved ones made a person stronger than fighting for one's self. You saved me again when you risked your own safety by facing the Akatuski in order to rescue me from my captivity and then providing Chiyo-sama the chakra necessary to revive me. I made a vow then and there that whatever Uzumaki Naruto believed was precious I was going to protect it" Gaara said.

Naruto placed his right hand behind his head and said "Gee, thanks Gaara".

Not liking the uncomfortable feeling he was getting Naruto decided to change the subject by asking "Hey Gaara, how are they treating you here in this fancy hotel?"

"The service is satisfactory" Gaara replied.

At that point Temari stood up and said "Excuse me, please" and left the room.

When Temari was gone Naruto leaned closer to Gaara and said "Yeah, but how does the food taste in this place. I know that hospital food sucks so how is the food here?"

"The food is satisfactory here" Gaara answered, "but Temari won't let me have any sweets."

"Gotcha," Naruto said "I'll try and sneak some in next time I visit."

At this time Temari reappeared carrying a book. "Hey Naruto, I meant to ask you something. I found this old book in a bookstore in Suna and it has your name in it and it's written by someone named Jaraiya. At first I thought about your old Sensei but as I understand he only wrote smutty romance novels. Is it the same guy?"

Naruto looked at the book in Temari's hand and read the title: The Gutsy Ninja. With a slight tremble in his voice Naruto answered "Yeah, it was the first book he ever wrote".

Temari saw Naruto's eyes glisten and said "You really miss him, don't you?"

Naruto just looked at the book and said "Yeah".

Temari asked "Do you want to have it?"

"Naw, you keep it. I already have a copy" Naruto replied.

After a moment of silence Naruto stood up and said "Well, I better get going. I have to take Hinata home from the hospital and I don't want to be late". "Hey, when are you guys going back to Suna?" Naruto suddenly asked.

Temari answered "Since the need for secrecy is over I sent word to Baki to have a full escort come to Konoha to take us back. It should be here in another two days".

"Good" said Naruto, "then I'll see you guys later."

Temari escorted Naruto to the door but as soon as they got there she turned Naruto around and gave him a big hug. Taken aback Naruto didn't know what to say or do.

After Temari released him she said "Thanks again for saving Gaara. And tell that Hyuuga girl she is one lucky girl".

Naruto looked shocked and said "How did you know….aah, never mind".

As he walked down the hall to the elevator Naruto thought "Everybody knew she was watching me before I did, everybody knew she liked me before I did and now everybody likes how she affect me." "And you know what, I like it too" he thought with a grin on his face.

When the elevator reached the ground floor Naruto decided to keep his eyes straight and walk right through the lobby to the front entrance. However as he got close to the entrance he heard the receptionist call out "Come and see us again, Uzumaki-san".

When Naruto arrived at the hospital he knew that he was in trouble for sneaking out and so he tried to avoid seeing Tsunade or Shizune as best he could. He checked every hallway be fore walking through to the next one. He ducked into empty rooms whenever he heard someone coming. Now he was on the same floor as Hinata and her room was only a hundred feet away.

As he slowly crept down the empty hallway towards his goal he suddenly heard a voice behind say "Don't worry Naruto-kun, you have already been signed out".

The word "Busted" rang through Naruto's mind as he slowly turned around and saw Shizune standing behind him. Before he could say anything Shizune just smile and shook her head while she turned and walked away. Hinata was sitting on her bed waiting for the nurse to arrive so she could bathe and dress in order to be ready when Naruto arrived.

When she heard the knock at the door she replied "Come in".

When she heard the door open she expected to hear the nurse's voice but suddenly she felt that familiar feeling that always felt like a masseuse was working the kinks out of her muscles.

She knew in an instant what that meant and said "Naruto-kun!" however the realization that she wasn't ready hit her so she panicked and started to apologize saying "Oh, Naruto-kun, I'm sorry I'm not dressed but I didn't realize how late it was". "The nurse was supposed to come by and….." she continued but Naruto interrupted her by saying "Shh, Hinata, it's okay, it's okay, you're not late. I'm early. I just wanted to make sure I didn't make you wait when it came time to leave".

Hinata gave a shy smile and thought "How sweet, Naruto-kun".

And then she heard him say "Actually, Hinata, I wanted to talk to you about, uh, you know, about us". "I know I'm not good with all that mushy talk so I am just going to say it, you make me feel comfortable". "I know, it not the kind of romantic talk you hear in all those movies but that how I feel. When we're together you make me feel like I always dream it would feel if I had a family at home waiting for me; the feeling that I belonged somewhere and I was not just a visitor. These last three months, whenever we were together, all the things that had bothered me that day just disappeared. When I used to go on missions, the first thing I thought about when coming home was going to Ichiraku for ramen. Now the first thing I think about is going to Ichiraku for ramen with you. When I first heard that you got hurt because of me my stomach felt empty because I thought you would never want to see me again. I don't know if I'm saying this right or not but if these feeling are what love is then I guess I love you."

The silence after Naruto had finished was deafening. Hinata hadn't said a thing and Naruto was wondering what she was thinking. Then he heard her sniff and he noticed a tear leaking out from under her bandages so he asked "Hey Hinata, are you alright?"

Hinata didn't say a word, she just nodded her head quickly and then after regaining her composure said quietly "Naruto-kun, those were the most romantic words I have ever heard".

Naruto smiled and said "Then I guess were boyfriend and girlfriend now?"

Hinata quickly nodded her head.

Then Naruto said "Now what happens?"

Before Hinata could say anything there was a knock at the door and a nurse stuck her head in saying "Time for your bath, Hyuuga-sama".

Noticing Naruto in the room the nurse said "Oh, I didn't know you had company. I'll just start the water for your bath and then I'll come back before the tub is full."

No one said anything while the nurse was there and after she left Naruto said "I better wait outside while you get dress".

Hinata nodded her head and said "Okay", and then she heard the door open and then close.

Hinata was in heaven. Naruto had just confessed his love to her! The world was suddenly perfect. She had never felt so happy and warm and comfortable. As she started to remove her night clothes to take her bath she suddenly realized why she felt so comfortable. Grabbing her gown tightly to her body she said "Naruto-kun! Get out of this room right now!"

She suddenly heard the sound of tumbling and a chair hitting the ground and then the sound of the door opening and then closing. After making sure she could no longer detect him Hinata sat down on her bed fuming and said "That pervert!" Kurenai-sensei was right. Hanging around with Jaraiya and Kakashi had corrupted him. To think, he just tried to look at my body!" When what she said finally registered Hinata froze.

"He wanted to look at my body" she said softly.

"He wanted to look at MY body" she repeated softly.

"Yes!" she said while softly stomping her feet on the floor and pounding her fists on the bed. Then realizing all the consequences that would follow; holding hands, light touching, kissing, more touching, deeper kisses, intimate touching and at that point Hinata's brain shutdown and she fainted. When the nurse returned she was wondering if Hinata had tried to walk and bumped her head as she was lying unconscious with a little blood under her nose.

Naruto paced anxiously outside of Hinata's hospital room. He blew it! He knew he messed up badly. Damn that Jaraiya and his books. Hinata would definitely hate him now. She probably didn't even want to see him again let alone walk her home but he just had to try to apologize. After what seemed like forever the door opened and Hinata stepped out.

Before Naruto could open his mouth to apologize, Hinata said "I'm ready to go home now".

At first Naruto looked around wondering to whom Hinata was talking. When he didn't see anyone else he realized it was him and he said "Okay, let me take your arm then".

Taking her hand in his and holding her arm inside his arm Naruto walked Hinata out of the hospital and towards the Hyuuga estates. Naruto figured that the only reason Hinata was letting him take her home was because it was too late to get someone else. They both walked in silence neither knowing what to say to the other.

When they arrived outside the Hyuuga estate's walls and within a few hundred feet of the main gate Naruto stopped and said "Look Hinata, I am sorry for what happened back there. I know that I was wrong. I don't know what came over me. Please don't hate me. I like hanging out with you. I will do whatever you say, just please forgive me".

Hinata was silent for a few seconds and then said "Naruto-kun, I am not comfortable with what you did".

Naruto was crestfallen and he started to turn away when he barely heard Hinata whisper "But when I am comfortable I'll let you look all you want".

Naruto was shocked. He looked at Hinata, who had her face down and tinted with a blush, and whispered "Really?"

Hinata didn't say a thing, she just nodded her head. Naruto was so happy he just grabbed Hinata by the shoulders, which caused her to look up in shock and Naruto kissed her.

Hinata previously had many dreams about her first kiss with Naruto. There was the romantic dinner served at a fancy restaurant; there was the kiss by moonlight near the shore of the lake; there was the kiss after the rescue, either her rescuing Naruto or Naruto rescuing her. There was even her personal favorite, the kiss standing on top of the Hokage Mountain while being silhouetted by the full moon. Never in her wildest dreams was there a kiss on the dusty road of Konoha outside the Hyuuga estates. But as far as Hinata was concerned this dream was the best because this kiss was real. The kiss was somewhat chaste as this was the first kiss for both of them but it made Hinata feel as if Naruto's hands were the only thing supporting her body. Even though it felt like forever Naruto broke the kiss after hearing a few coughs coming from the direction of the compound's gates. Looking past Hinata's shoulder Naruto saw Neji standing beside the guards of the estate's front gates.

Looking back at Hinata who seemed as if she was sleeping standing up he said "I think you better go inside now. Neji is waiting".

As Hinata returned to her senses she said "Oh, oh yes, thank you for walking me home, Naruto-kun".

As they walked the last hundred feet to the gate Naruto said, "Oh yeah, about what we talked about just now, I had heard that the Byakugan can see through anything even clothes. Is that true?"

Hinata blushed and replied rapidly "Oh no, that is just a rumor. The Byakugan can only see chakra coils and the general outline of the human body but no definition".

"Oh, okay. Well here's Neji to take you inside" Naruto said as they reached Neji's position and Naruto placed Hinata's hand into Neji's.

"Can I see you tomorrow, Hinata?" Naruto asked.

Hinata turned towards Naruto's voice and said, "I have to check with father but I will let you know."

With that Hinata and Neji entered the gates and Naruto turned to walk home. While walking Naruto thought "It is going to be interesting to have Hinata as a girlfriend. She said loves my messy hair, my whiskers, my birthmark…." Naruto stopped short and subconsciously touch his behind and said aloud "Wait! I never told her about my birthmark. I never even told Iruka about it. So how does she know…..". As realization came to Naruto he just smiled and took off running thinking "Yeah, having Hinata for a girlfriend is going to be interesting indeed"


End file.
